


Versailles Reincarnated

by TwoWeird



Category: Versailles (TV 2015)
Genre: Chevalier d'Lorraine as Designer, F/M, Fabien Marchal as Head of Security, Fabien Marchal as Investigator, Louis XIV as Mayor of Rouen, M/M, Philippe as Rock Star, gay wedding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-07-16 08:08:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 71
Words: 346,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16082003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoWeird/pseuds/TwoWeird
Summary: Once there was a King of France, Louis XIV, who wanted to be immortal. While Louis will forever be remembered for the achievements as king and for the beautiful palace he built, Versailles, he was but a man and died as all men do. However, three hundred some years later, there is a strange phenomenon occurring. A man, with the same name, Louis, dreams he once was the King of France. This Louis finds out he has a brother who was put up for adoption at birth. That brother's name is Philippe and he, too had dreams of Versailles and now he KNOWS he is Philippe, duc d'Orleans born into the modern world, but with memories of his life three hundred years ago. He knows he must find his beloved Chevalier d'Lorraine, but when he does this Lorraine has no memories of Versailles or of Philippe.





	1. It All Starts With A Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis, the modern day mayor of Rouen, France, begins to have disturbing dreams about being the King of France in the 17th century. Then he learns from his mother that he has a brother. And that brother's name is Philippe.

The stillness of the night was broken as Louis writhed in his bed, crying out in his sleep. His wife, Marie, shook him to wake him out of the nightmare. Louis looked around, frightened, until he realized where he was. He was safe in his upscale house in modern day Rouen, France.

“Another of those dreams, dear?” What was it this time?”

“A woman. Henriette, I believe was her name. She was dying an awful death. She was my brother’s wife, but I was her lover. It was all so real! I loved her so much and it hurt to lose her. These dreams have got to stop. I cannot take them anymore. I have enough trouble with real life.”

“Perhaps you should go see a doctor—or a psychiatrist.”

“And what would they tell me? I have no idea where these dreams come from. There are never people I know in them. Instead, there is this nonstop parade of strangers, but they aren’t strangers to me in the dreams. I know them. And I am back in time. I think in the 17th century from the clothes we are wearing.”

“And were you king in this dream, too?”

“Yes, I was the damned king, yet I could do nothing to save this poor woman!”

“Maybe a doctor could prescribe something to help you sleep.”

“As Mayor of Rouen, I need to have a clear mind.”

“But if you don’t sleep, your head won’t be clear. Do you want me to warm some milk for you? Maybe with a little chocolate or vanilla in it?”

“No, thank you. Go back to sleep. I’ll be back to bed in a bit.”

It was quite a while later before he returned to bed and a fitful sleep. He was very grumpy on his commute to work.

About mid-morning, he called his secretary in, “Ms. Blachard, I am going to take a little longer for lunch today. I hope you don’t have anything scheduled for one o’clock.” She answered, “No, sir. I’ve kept it open as you like.” But not before giving him a look of disapproval. He wondered, was it possible she knew about his trysts with Belle?  Or did she just disapprove of him taking so many frequent long lunches? “Damn, that woman, she is too nosy for her own good,” he thought.

The rest of the morning went quickly as he looked forward to his long lunch. When the time came, he put on his suit jacket and left the office; his mood suddenly became much lighter. His driver awaited him, and knew exactly where to go when he said, “To the hotel.”

He arrived at the hotel and gave the driver instructions to return in exactly one and a half hours. He went in and to the bar, where his Belle was waiting for him. Belle was beautiful, long dark hair, gorgeous green eyes, a body full in just the right places. He had met her at a fund-raiser for a local charity. He had loved her looks and had donated a decent sum to her charity to get her attention. She, in turn, was grateful for the contribution. He had managed to slip away from his wife to talk to her. When he suggested drinks later that week, she had not missed a beat, and took him up on the offer. She was the daughter of a rich businessman, and quite spoiled. She also had a voracious sexual appetite.

As he walked into the bar and sat on the stool next to her, she gave him a little kiss on the cheek. “I took the liberty of ordering you a French Martini. I know how you love your Chambord!”

“Thank you.” He sat down and made quick work of the martini.

She smiled at him and said, “Are you in a hurry or something?”

“Not at all. Just anxious to spend some time with you. Shall we go up?”

They went up to the room he always had reserved for their Tuesday meetings—under a different name of course. As soon, as he closed the door, he turned to Belle and gave her a long, hungry kiss. She returned his kiss with her normal enthusiasm. She grabbed his tie and untied it throwing it onto the floor as he unbuttoned her blouse. She pushed him onto the bed and shimmied out of her skirt to crawl on top of him. He pushed her back and said, “Easy there. You know I don’t like to get my clothes wrinkled—I do have to go back to work after this.” She pouted as she climbed off him, so he could remove his clothes and drape them gently over a chair. He picked up the tie, brushed it off and laid it carefully on top of his clothes.

“Now you’ve ruined the mood,” she complained.

He came up behind her and removed her blouse, then her bra. He nuzzled her neck and cupped his hands over her breasts. “I don’t think you can stay out of the mood for very long.”

“Yes, you are right. You know me very well,” she answered pushing her body back into his.

Now it was his turn to push her onto the bed. This was the game they played every week. She tried to get him to have sex in his clothes and he always insisted on taking them off and neatly placing them over the chair. She’d pout then they’d make wonderful, delicious, love. Tuesdays were always good days for him. He returned to the office in a much better mood.

That was, until Ms. Blachard put a call through to him, “It’s your mother, sir.”

His mother had had a stroke a month ago and was slowly recuperating. He tried to visit her at least once a week, but it was difficult with his hectic schedule.

“Hello, mom. How are you feeling?”

She sighed, “Better I guess. At least the doctors say so. But I am so tired and still have so much trouble with my left side.”

“You know the doctors said it will take time. You have to follow their instructions and do the therapy.”

“I hate the therapy.”

“But you can’t regain your abilities without doing the therapy. Is there some special reason why you called? I have a meeting in a few minutes.”

“You are always so busy.”

“You are the one who wanted me to become a mayor. Mayors are busy people.”

“Yes, and I am proud of you. You’ve always listened to me and tried to make me proud. I’m calling because I need to see you. There is something I need to talk to you about. Something important I don’t want to talk over the phone about. Could you take a little time this evening to come see me?”

“Yes, mom, I will take time. I’ll be there at seven this evening. Now I need to go. You take care of yourself and listen to your doctor. Do your therapy! I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He felt so guilty for not making more time for her. She had been a good mother and had worked hard to put him through school. She had left her abusive husband when he was only two years old and had worked two jobs to support the two of them. Through her hard work and determination, she had worked her way up from typist to executive secretary and eventually a bank manager. She was able to ensure he could go to a good college and get his degree in finance. He owed her a lot and she had not demanded much in return except for his love. Louis called his wife to let her know he was going to see his mother and would grab something to eat on the way. He wouldn’t be home until later.

The rest of the day went quickly and soon he was on his way to see his mother, wondering as he watched the streets of Rouen pass by what his mother wanted to talk about that was so important. They had already discussed her will and final arrangements. Her close brush with death had reminded them both that this was something that should be done. Maybe she wanted to change things around a bit.

When he walked into her room, it struck him how frail she was looking. She might be slowly recovering from the stroke, but it had taken a huge toll on her. He went over and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead. “Mom, you are looking so much better!” He had a hard time lying to his mother, but the truth was just too hard to speak right now.

“Thank you. Progress is slow. I am so glad you could come visit.”

“What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“There is something really important that I have not told you. I don’t really know how to say it.”

“You’ve always told me to just say it and be done with it.”

“It has to do with when I took you and left your father.”

“Yes, I know how difficult it was for you, but you said he was an alcoholic and an abusive man. You had no choice. You did what was best for the both of us.”

“Well, that is just it. There wasn’t just the two of us. I am so ashamed I haven’t told you about this before.”

“Told me about what?”

“I was pregnant when I left. You have a younger brother. I had to give him up for adoption right after he was born. I didn’t know how I was going to support the two of us and I just couldn’t handle a baby, too.”

Louis was stunned. “Mother, why are you telling me this now? Why have you waited all these years to tell me something as important as this?”

“I was ashamed. Then the longer I waited, the harder it became. Look, I have all the information here. I paid an investigator to look for him years ago, but this was all he could find—the name of an adoption agency and a couple that was interested in adopting him at the time. I don’t know if they went through with the adoption or not. That was before computers and the internet. Please find him. I need to see him before I die.”

“Mother, you are not going to die for a long time. What if I do find him and he doesn’t want to see you?”

“You must convince him to come see me. You must. I named him Philippe. He was such a beautiful little boy. Blue eyes and dark curly hair. He had the most beautiful lips. It broke my heart to give him up.”

“Ok, I will do my best, mom. Now you get some rest. You need to be better for when Philippe comes to see you.”

With that, she beamed with happiness. “Yes, I must get better! Thank you! Give me a hug and a kiss before you go!”

In the car on the way home, Louis wondered just what he had gotten himself into promising his mother he’d find the child she gave up so many years ago. Then a strange thought came to him. In those dreams he kept having, he had a younger brother and that brother’s name was Philippe. How odd.


	2. When Brothers Disappoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Louis's detective finds his brother, Louis is not exactly happy at the results.

The next day Louis called the man he used when he needed to find dirt on political opponents, Mr. Fontain. He explained that he needed to find his brother, given up for adoption at birth. He relayed the information his mother had given him and told Fontain he would pay extra for a quick result. When the brother was found, Fontain was to ask the brother to come to Rouen to meet with Louis and his mother. Then he put the matter out of his mind.

However, for the next two nights he had dreams about this brother, Philippe. In the first night’s dream, he and Philippe were children. As usual, he was playing a trick on his younger brother. When Philippe burst into tears, their mother ran over to grab Philippe and comfort him. She was always pampering the younger Philippe. He felt resentment towards Philippe for that. As the young king, Louis was expected to display perfect control always. Louis had never been able to cry, for any reason, without getting a sharp rebuke. As Philippe curled up in his mother’s lap, the young Louis mouthed the word, “baby.”  It had the expected effect of making Philippe cry more and bury his head in his mom’s loving arms.

Louis woke up a bit later and lay in the dark wondering at the emotions going through him. He didn’t have a brother, why was he feeling such resentment? Even if they were to find this abandoned brother, they had not grown up together. Where were these feelings coming from?

The second night, he dreamed that as king, he sent his brother off to war. That woman who had died in the earlier dream, Henriette, was alive in this dream, and it was she who had convinced him to send his brother—her husband—off to war. In the dream, he was wracked with guilt over the decision, even though he, the King, knew that Philippe had asked to go to war. Philippe felt that fighting the king’s battles was his chance to show loyalty to France and gain favor with his brother. Louis’s dream switched to the battle field where Philippe and his men were attacking. He saw the men falling, blood pouring from wounds. Others were blown to bits by cannon fire. It was a nightmare scene and in the middle of it all was Philippe charging forward with no fear, using his sword to strike enemy soldiers on foot.

He woke up in a cold sweat. That battle scene had been all too realistic! Much more than anything he had seen in the movies or on the television screen. He had a hard time falling back to sleep. A part of him dreaded what he might dream next.

Several days passed with no more “king” dreams. He was at work when Ms. Blachard told him he had a call from a Mr. Fontain. It took him a moment to remember why Fontain would be calling him, then he remembered—it would be about this brother.

“Mr. Fontain, hello. What is the news on finding my brother?”

“I have found him, but I’m not sure you are going to be happy about it.”

Louis thought to himself, what could possibly be wrong now? “And what am I not going to like?”

“This Philippe is a musician—a rock musician. He’s a bit rough around the edges. He’s living in Paris.”

“What was his reaction to finding out about us?”

“Well, uh, let’s just say he wasn’t impressed. I think he’s bitter. Think of it from his point of view. No telling what difficulties he had growing up. And now, twenty-eight years later, the family that discarded him suddenly wants to welcome him with open arms.”

“We didn’t have it that easy, but then he doesn’t know that. My mother worked her ass off to support us. She would not have been able to do that with a baby. Is he, going to come visit with our mother or not?”

“Not. He doesn’t want to leave Paris.”

“Well, my—our mother cannot travel. Maybe I should go to Paris and talk to him. Explain things. We can always talk to mom on the phone.”

“There’s something else you should probably know—actually, a couple of things. First, his sexual preference is men, from what I could see to an excess. Second, for his musical act, he calls himself Philippe duc d’Orlean. You know Louis XIV’s brother—I guess because his name is Philippe. He sort of lives this reclusive lifestyle sort of like some vampire or walking dead thing or something. For his act, he dresses somewhat in the style of that period but with leather pants, long hair, and so on. He’s very flamboyant and way out there.”

That last information stunned Louis. He thought, “What kind of crazy coincidence is this? First, he dreams he is the king, then this supposed real life brother of his thinks he’s the king’s brother? Has the world gone mad?” Then to Fontain he said, “Ok, I am going to have to go to Paris to talk to him. Are you sure you have the right person?”

“Strangely enough, he has his birth certificate. I guess he went to so many foster homes that he felt he needed it. It matches the birth information your mother gave you.”

“Okay, look, I am going to take the rest of the day off and have my driver take me to Paris. It should take no more than two hours. I can meet you at your hotel and you can take me to meet him. Can you let him know I am coming?”

“Yes, I can tell him, but I have no idea if he will want to meet you.”

“Look, do whatever is necessary to make him allow me to see him.”

“I think money could be an enticement.”

“Ok, start with $500, but don’t go over $5000. In fact, just tell him I’ll give him $5000 if he will come back to Rouen with me to meet our mother. I’ll ensure he gets back to Paris.”

“If that’s what you want, then I’ll do it.”

“See you in about two hours then.”

They hung up and Louis sat there processing everything. This was getting very weird. He decided to look up Philippe duc d’Orleans on his computer and printed out a few pages of history complete with several paintings of the duc. Damn if the Philippe in the painting didn’t look like the Philippe in his dreams. He must’ve seen a painting of him somewhere and just forgot. He put the papers in his briefcase and grabbed it and his jacket. He told Ms. Blachard on his way out that he had a family emergency and had to leave for the day. Her response was, “What am I to tell if one of the supervisor’s calls? They will want more information.”

“Tell them, I have found my brother after twenty-eight years!” And with that he was out the door, calling his driver on his phone.

On the road to Paris, he read the information on Philippe duc d’Orlean he had printed out. He had not thought to ask for a description of the Philippe in Paris. But the things like him preferring sex with men did fit with the historical Philippe. It was all just weird. But he was determined to get to the bottom of it all. It would be a shame to find a long-lost brother only to realize he had severe mental problems. He and his mother didn’t need that. He hoped he’d find answers in Paris—not more questions!


	3. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis meets Philippe face to face in the modern world. Louis bribes Philippe to come back to Rouen with him. Philippe inadvertently puts an idea in Louis's head that Philippe quickly regrets.

Louis’s car arrived in Paris mid-afternoon where he met Fontain at his hotel. Fontain joined him in the car and they were off to find Philippe’s flat in the Bastille area of Paris. Louis thought to himself that at least Philippe seemed to be doing well for himself when they pulled up to the building where Philippe’s flat was. Fontain led the way to the building’s door and pushed the buzzer for the flat.

After a few moments of quiet, a young man’s voice answered asking who was calling. Fontain answered, “Philippe’s brother.”

The voice on the other end seemed confused, “Who?”

Fontain answered, “I am Mr. Fontain. I was here earlier today. I have brought Philippe’s brother, Louis.”

“Just a minute, I’ll be right back,” the voice answered.

Fontain leaned over to whisper to Louis, “A lot of the people here seem to be quite high on something. Also, be warned that there may be many young men in various stages of undress. As I said, this Philippe seems to take things to excess.”

Then they heard the click of the door and a voice, saying, “Come on in. Philippe is busy right now, but he’ll be with you In a few minutes.”

A very skinny young man in his early twenties was at the door. He was wearing just a pair of frayed jeans with the top buttons undone. His long hair was disheveled, his eyes glassy, and his skin pallid. “Philippe is over there.”

Louis looked in the direction indicated, and the shock of what he saw made him stop breathing for a moment. Sitting on a leather couch was the Philippe in his dreams and the Philippe in the historical paintings. Long, wavy, dark brown, almost black hair, mesmerizing blue eyes, pale skin, full lips, a long thin nose—it was all there. Philippe was wearing a pair of half-buttoned leather pants and no shirt. Another young man was laying on the couch with his head in Philippe’s lap. Philippe was absent-mindedly stroking the young man’s hair as he glared at his visitors. Louis had a good idea what had made Philippe “busy” just a few minutes ago.

Louis felt very uncomfortable. The windows in the living room were covered with heavy drapes that were drawn tight, not letting in any outside light. The room was lit by a red light emanating from somewhere unseen. It gave the room a haunting feeling. The only other light was an under counter light in the open kitchen area to their left. Louis felt like he had walked into a vampire movie or something. He half-expected to see two puncture marks on the neck of the young man whose head was in Philippe’s lap.

With a snap of his fingers Philippe sent the young man scurrying . Philippe rose up to greet them, buttoning his pants as he stood. He walked toward Louis with a swagger—the look in his eyes daring Louis or Fontain to say anything about the situation. Philippe was totally at ease. “So, are you my long-lost brother? Am I what you expected?” There was a hint of rebellion in the way he spoke.

Louis cleared his throat, gathered his composure and answered, “Yes, I do believe you are my brother and Mr. Fontain here says your credentials seem to prove it so.”

“Well, come here brother and give me a hug!” After all this time it is the least we can do.” Philippe came over and gave Louis a big, suffocating hug. “My brother! At last we meet! Can’t say that I was expecting this. Why contact me now after twenty-eight years of silence?”

“My—our mother is sick. She wants to see you.”

Louis could see a hint of emotion flash across Philippe’s face before it returned to the disinterested, almost haughty demeanor. “And, still, I ask, why now? Does she want to make some deathbed confession? Clear her guilty mind? Why should I care?”

Louis was about to lose his cool, “Because she is your mother. You came to life in her womb and she gave birth to you!”

“Yes, and then minutes later she gave me away. What _mother_ does that? Where was she when I was alone at six years old in a foster home with a drunken man who liked to beat me? Where was my _mother_ then? There were so many times I cried out for her as a child; but then I finally accepted the fact that I had no mother to comfort me. It made life a lot easier to give up hope.”

Louis could feel the barely controlled emotion in Philippe’s voice and saw the glistening of his eyes as he fought his emotions. Louis felt sadness for this brother he had not known. “Come back to Rouen with me and I will explain everything on the trip there. Then I think you will want to meet her. Our lives were hard, too.”

“Your man, Fontain mentioned 5000. Is that still on the table if I go to Rouen with you?”

Louis had a sudden urge to slap Philippe but controlled the impulse. “Yes, I will pay you. Only you cannot mention the money to her. It would break her heart to think you only went to see her for money.”

“My heart broke many years ago. I find it hard to feel sympathy.”

Louis chose to ignore the last comment. “How long can you stay? I will see to it that you get back here to Paris.”

“I have a meeting on my new album in two days. I need to be back by then. I’ll go pack a few clothes.” Philippe left the living room and went down the hall. As Louis and Fontain waited for Philippe to return, three young men came out of a room on the other side of the living room. None of them wore clothes, and they appeared not to notice the two men as they fondled and played with each other, making their way unsteadily into the kitchen. Fontain saw Louis clench his jaw. He had tried to warn him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Philippe emerged wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a tee shirt, carrying a duffle bag.  He went into the kitchen and said something to the three young men in there. Philippe then kissed each young man on the lips and hugged them, his hands cupping their firm young buttocks. As he turned away he said something to them, but Fontain and Louis tried not to hear as they didn’t want to hear anything personal—or lewd.

Once they got inside the car and were on their way back to Rouen, Louis relaxed somewhat. He asked Philippe, “Fontain says you bill yourself as Philippe duc d’Orleans in your act. Is it because you look a lot like the historical man and have the same first name?”

Philippe studied Louis for a few seconds, then answered slowly and forcefully, “I call myself that because I AM Philippe duc d’Orleans.”

“That really isn’t possible. He lived over 350 years ago. You can’t have lived that long.”

“I have no idea how it has happened. All I know is that I was living a normal life, when about six years ago I started having these dreams where I was Philippe duc d’Orleans. At first, I thought it was because I was taking a lot of drugs and they were messing up my mind. That scared me—that and I lost a good friend to an overdose. So, I went into rehab and got off the drugs. But with sobriety, the dreams got even more vivid and real. I went to a psychiatrist thinking it must be some residual effect of the drugs. The psychiatrist didn’t help me at all. He was a waste of good money.”

“And what brought you to your final conclusion?”

“I met a woman who was into Buddhism and she tried to explain reincarnation to me. What she described didn’t match perfectly with my experience, but it was the best explanation I had. Somehow, I lived 350 years ago and died a natural death. Time passed and for some reason I was reborn again, only I didn’t realize it until I became an adult. At least that’s what a friend who was into crystals and all types of spiritual things explained to me. The dreams and feelings they brought grew so strong, I had to finally stop fighting it and give in. I worked it into my rock and roll persona and my career skyrocketed.”

Louis had sat quietly listening, shocked at how Philippe’s story was paralleling his own, although Philippe seemed further down the path than Louis was. Louis finally spoke. “I started having the dreams recently, too.”

“Oh fuck! Don’t tell me you think you are Louis XIV! Of course, you _would_ be the king. Why am I not surprised?”

“Who would I be if not the king?”

“Oh, maybe some peasant or foot servant. For once I’d like to be the one with the power.”

“I don’t understand. What power?”

“I guess you haven’t had enough dreams yet to realize you have or had absolute power. I don’t know how this works exactly. Isn’t it strange that you decided to find me at this particular time?”

“Again, I do not understand. What is special about this time?”

“What’s special is that you are beginning to have the dreams and you sought me out—your brother—in this life, and in the other life—only to learn I had the dreams, too.”

Louis answered, “Fontain, you’ve been sitting there listening to us talk. What do you think of this situation?”

Fontain thought for a moment before answering. “There are some things in this life that can’t be explained. This may be one of them.”

Philippe retorted, “Yeah, you think we are crazy. Don’t blame you, I think we are crazy, too!” Philippe laughed sarcastically.

“Philippe, before we go to meet our mother, I’ve decided to bring you home and let you stay in our spare bedroom. I want you to meet my wife and daughter.”

“So, you deem me fit to meet your family! Amazing.”

“You are my brother, why would I not want you to meet them?”

“I always embarrassed you at Versailles. I imagine I will continue to do so in this life, too. In fact, I look forward to it.”

“Well, I would hope you would at least not curse or talk about inappropriate things. You would do that for me wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, I do have some decency to not curse around a child. Is your wife aware you have a brother?”

“She knows my mom had a baby and put it up for adoption. She is not aware that I have found you. We didn’t think it would happen this fast.”

“You did, at least, let her know you were bringing someone home?”

“No. Just haven’t had time.”

Philippe laughed. “At least you haven’t changed. Still inconsiderate and self-centered, as always.”

Louis didn’t answer, but just scowled at Philippe.

Philippe dropped that subject and brought up another, “So, if this is reincarnation thing is real, then what do we do next?”

“I’ll be damned if I know. If I was King Louis XIV before, then it doesn’t really matter in this life. I’m no king now—just a mayor.”

Philippe gave Louie one of his half-smiles, “Surely you jest. You don’t see the irony in your situation? The possibilities?”

“I don’t think I am following you.”

“Think about it. You are a mayor of a large city in France. What is the highest government position in modern-day France?”

“President or Prime Minister. Both have plenty of power. I think the President has more.”

“And how many mayors have become President or even Prime Minister?”

Louis now realized where Philippe was heading, “Quite a few.”

Philippe was looking intensely at his brother when he said, “Then, the power is there for you to grab, brother. Again. I am surprised that it took me to tell you this.” As he spoke, Philippe thought to himself, “Why did I have to open my mouth?”


	4. Meeting the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe meets Louis's family. The brothers talk about future plans.

Neither Louis nor Philippe expected the reception Philippe received in Louis’s home. Louis’s wife, Marie didn’t have much of a reaction, but Louis knew he’d get an earful later when they were alone. He should have taken time to call her and warn her he was brining company home, but the thought never crossed his mind.

Neither Louis nor Philippe were expecting the high-pitched scream of his eight-year-old daughter, Lisabeth. “Oh my god, oh my god! It’s Philippe! It’s Philippe!” followed by another long scream. Louis was worried the excited young girl was going to faint.

Philippe quipped, “Does she greet all your guests like that?”

Louis left it up to his wife to calm the hysterical young girl.

“Didn’t realize your music appealed to the younger crowd,” Louis commented.

“Actually, I didn’t either. Most of my music is ‘R’ rated. She shouldn’t be able to buy it. We don’t play gigs to crowds of screaming young girls, either. Most parents wouldn’t let their kids come to our show.”

“Well, I don’t let her go to rock shows and, as far as I know, she hasn’t been allowed to buy music with explicit lyrics.”

“Kids can get their hands on just about anything now,” Philippe commented with a smirk.

“I will have a talk with Lisabeth about this later.”

As they waited for Marie to finish cooking the meal, they sat in the living room talking.

“I know you had a hard time growing up without a mother, but things were really hard for us, too. Mother had to work two and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet. She was forced to leave me with neighbors—something she would not have been able to do if she had a baby to worry about, too. She honestly thought when she gave you up for adoption that this nice young couple was going to adopt you and give you a better life, but I guess that fell through for some reason. They said newborn babies were always the first to be adopted. She never dreamed you would wind up in the foster care system.”

“She probably should have checked out that adoption agency better. They were a bunch of crooks as far as I could find out.”

“You looked into your history?”

“Yes, a while back I thought I’d hunt down my mother and father. The trail ended with that adoption agency. They had destroyed their records after they came under investigation. What happened to our father?”

“He was an alcoholic and died in a car accident not too long after mom left him.”

“Oh, too bad. I guess we can agree that life was hard for all of us. Doesn’t matter now anyway. It is what it is. When are we going to visit your mom?”

“Our mom. I was thinking tomorrow morning. She’s usually well-rested and in good spirits then. She will be so happy to see you.”

“Will she? I’m not exactly the type that moms love.”

“She will—but she doesn’t have to hear all the gory details of your life.”

“I have a question for you about this reincarnation thing.”

“You are more of an expert on it than I am but go ahead.”

“If you and I were reincarnated, would there be others from our time reincarnated, too?”

“I can’t see why not. It’s probably something everyone goes through. Maybe most people just don’t remember.”

“If the Chevalier d’Lorraine was reincarnated, what do you think he’d be doing in today’s world?”

Louis sighed, “Don’t you think you are better off without him? He just complicates your life. He’s so frivolous and conniving.”

“That’s just the ‘court’ persona he displayed. I think he’d be a little different here.”

“Remember, he was a traitor, too. His judgement cannot be trusted.”

“Yes, but life seems so flat without him in it. You saw all those young men in my flat. I’d trade the whole lot of them for the Chevalier.”

“Yes, unfortunately, I did see them all—in more detail than I ever wanted.”

“Don’t judge me!” Philippe leaned over and whispered angrily in Louis’s ear, “I doubt that you are satisfied with just your wife, as nice of a person as she seems to be. I bet you have at least one mistress on the side, probably more.”

“I do not wish to talk of these things.”

“Of course, you don’t! The king never wants to talk about his own failings. You know, I think I am going to start looking for the Chevalier. I know that the one thing he loves is clothes. He called them his ‘costumes to express his every mood.’ God knows he just about bankrupted me at Versailles with the clothes he bought.”

“Where are you going to look?”

“The fashion houses, fashion magazines, gossip magazines—If there is any juicy gossip to be had you know he will be in the middle of it! I don’t know, though, if he would be some lowly retail person or a famous designer. I would think if he were famous, I would’ve noticed him, but then I haven’t paid much attention to high fashion in this life.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“And you, what are you going to do to consolidate your power? I assume you are now thinking of running for president or prime minister? How does one even get on the ticket to run?”

“I know from running for mayor that it takes a lot of hard work, planning and luck—and lots of money. Finding donors is imperative.”

“And I would guess kissing babies and helping little old ladies cross the street.”

“It will have to be done in steps. First, I will gather those I know with political experience and run the idea by them. We must take steps now to ensure my name is out there when the time is right.”

“Sounds complicated. I will stick to walking the streets in search of the Chevalier. I guess I must start going to some of the more exclusive high society parties. Those can be so boring, but the Chevalier does love a party.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Marie called them to supper. They had polite talk at the supper table. Lisabeth had more control over herself now, but she kept gawking at Philippe. Philippe thought about talking to her but couldn’t be sure she would answer in a coherent way. He had no desire to elicit another ear-drum piercing scream.

After dinner, both Louis and Philippe helped clean up the dishes—Louis because he knew Marie was still mad for not calling her. Philippe because it was better than standing around contributing nothing. Lisabeth was sent off to prepare for bed. Philippe, Louis and Marie sat around exchanging small talk until it was time for bed.

Philippe was set up in the guest bedroom. He felt so out-of-place. It had been a while since he had tried to sleep without at least a half carafe of wine. And he missed the company of what he called his “puppies”—the young men that seemed to flock to him. It was nice to be adored. As he was drifting off to sleep his thoughts turned to the Chevalier. Where in Paris would he most likely find his love? Was the Chevalier even in Paris? So many questions, so many possibilities.


	5. Mothers, Puppies, and Lost Loves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe meets his mother. Philippe discovers the whereabouts of the Chevalier. He uses one of his "puppies" (young adoring men living with him) as a replacement for the Chevalier but it doesn't soothe his aching soul.

Louis was awakened by his alarm the next morning. He had had another restless night of dreams. This time he and Philippe were out hunting in the woods around Versailles. They enjoyed galloping their horses in races down the path. Louis almost always got the jump on Philippe and won. On the rare occasion Philippe got the jump on Louis, Louis would cry, “Doesn’t count” and refuse to race.  Philippe would announce himself as the winner and Louis would assert that since he didn’t compete in the race, there was no winner. Then they would argue like children until one of them galloped off and the other one gave pursuit.

In the dream, they had tired of racing and had settled into the hunt, riding side-by-side. A big stag came into view and Philippe was the first to call it. Etiquette would let Philippe have first shot since he called it first. Philippe was carefully aiming his gun putting the stag in his cross-hairs, but before he could get the shot off Louis had taken a shot that missed, sending the stag bounding into the forest.

“I had him in my sights! It was my shot since I called it first!”

“No, brother,” Louis answered, “You took too long, and the stag was ready to bolt. I had to shoot.”

“Yes, and your shot missed and scared him away! I would have had him if you had not shot!”

“It does no good to argue, the stag is gone. Neither of us have a chance at him now.”

“Why? Why do you always do this to me?”

“Because, brother, you let me.”

At that, Philippe spurred his horse and galloped away with Louis hot on his heels.

Louis had woken with the intense feeling of satisfaction at besting his brother.

Marie was awake soon after Louis got out of bed. Marie went in to wake up a sleeping Lisabeth. They went through their morning routine and once everyone was out of the bathrooms, Louis went to knock on Philippe’s door to wake him up. When Louis heard Philippe’s, “Ok, Ok, I’m up” he went to finish putting his own clothes on. Soon Lisabeth was off to school, Marie off to her job, and only the brothers were in the house.

They were sitting, sipping on coffee and eating some toast when Louis asked, “Did you have a Versailles dream last night?”

“Yes, yes I did. I wish you had not reminded me.” Philippe sullenly took a sip of his coffee. “We were hunting, and I saw a beautiful stag and called it. While I was taking careful aim, you butt in, made a hasty shot and missed. The stag ran off. It was so like you to always think only of yourself. You know, I think I liked it better when I didn’t have a brother in this life. You are so irritating, sometimes!”

 “Seriously, that was your dream? It was mine, too! Now that is very strange for both of us to be in the same dream that we each are having!”

“Strange, yes. But you are still irritating. Shall we get on with our visit to _our_ mother? I want to go look for the Chevalier afterwards.”

Soon, they were knocking at their mother’s door at the recuperation center. She was sitting in a chair reading a book and looked up. She smiled when she saw Louis enter, then a combination of happiness, fear and dread swept across her face as she saw Philippe behind Louis.

Louis said, “Mom, I found him. This is Philippe.”

Philippe stood uncomfortably, shifting his feet, unsure what to do.

“Philippe, my son, please come over here and let me hug you!”

Philippe came over and hugged his mom. There were tears of joy streaming down her face. She was now sobbing, “I am so sorry for abandoning you. I made a bad decision and you paid the price for it.”

Philippe found himself saying, “It’s ok.  I forgive you. It’s done now, and I turned out ok.”

She clutched Philippe’s hand tightly as if she was afraid to let him go again. They talked a while, Philippe explaining briefly how his life had gone, leaving out the worst parts. He had planned on telling her all the suffering he’d gone through to make her suffer from guilt and remorse. Instead, he was omitting the worst of the painful things and painting a much happier picture of his childhood than he had ever experienced. It was all in the past and couldn’t be changed so why beat her down with it and punish her?

Louis watched silently as the scene played out before him. He found himself smiling at the generosity of his brother. Philippe wasn’t so selfish after all.

Their visit was interrupted by a therapist coming in and announcing it was time for her physical therapy. They said goodbyes and Philippe promised he would come visit.

They were quiet in the car for a few minutes. Louis broke the silence. “Look, I’ve got to get to work—the driver can drop me off, then he can take you to Paris. Feel free to have the driver take you wherever you need to go until about three. He will have to return to Rouen to pick me up from work. Can we exchange phone numbers, so we can call each other now and then? I want us to keep in touch. I hope you find the Chevalier. I know how much he means to you. And here is the money I owe you. I hope a check is all right.”

Philippe took the check, “Thank you, brother.” Neither wanted to talk about the meeting with their mother.

Shortly after the driver dropped Louis at his office, Philippe made a call to his agent’s office.

“Lily, please. This is Philippe.”

There was a brief pause before Lily came on the line, “Hello, Philippe. What can I do for you today?”

“I need you to find a person for me. I’m not sure of his name. Probably Philippe Lorraine or something like that. He will probably be connected with fashion in some way, maybe a designer. Sorry to be so vague.”

“This one is easy. There is an up and coming designer in Paris. He goes by that name, Philippe Lorraine. His fashion house, House of Lorraine, is the hottest one on the scene right now. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him.”

“Haven’t been socializing much lately.”

“Yes, you stay holed up in your flat with that harem of boys.”

“They are young men, not boys. I am not into pedophilia.”

“Whatever. What do you want with Lorraine?”

“I want you to get me an invitation to the next party or soiree he attends.”

“Good, you need to get out more often. Hold on, let me do a check.” After a few minutes she spoke, “Yes, here it is. There is a big fashion party at the House of Lorraine tomorrow night to celebrate the release of his latest fashion line. There, I’ve sent off a request for an invitation. I’ll let you know if that is accepted or not.”

“Invited or not, I’ll be at that party. Send me the details on when and where.”

“Consider it done. Anything else I can do for you?”

“No, you have done an efficient and fast job. Thank you.”

Philippe was in deep thought on the way back to Paris. When they reached Paris, Philippe asked the driver to take him to the address given him for the House of Lorraine. When they got there, Philippe had the driver park across the street. He got out of the car and made his way across the street. He stood on the corner studying the outside of the building. It was in a beautifully refurbished historical building, but the bottom floor of the building sparkled with gold trim, marble and gleaming display windows. The Chevalier still had a flair for excess. Finally, Philippe went back to the car and told the driver to take him to his flat. He thanked the driver and released him.

Inside his flat, he was greeted by his favorite “puppy” Paul.

Philippe told him, “I need to fuck someone and you’ll do. Come on.” Paul smiled coyly and followed Philippe to the couch. Standing by the couch, Philippe kissed Paul urgently, slipping his tongue between Paul’s lips. Paul responded with equal passion pushing his hands under Philippe’s tee shirt to caress Philippe’s bare skin. Philippe pulled off Paul’s shirt, so he could run his hands down his back and then cupped Paul’s buttocks through his pants, pushing Paul against him. Paul reciprocated by pulling Philippe’s shirt off, then his hands went down to the waist of Philippe’s jeans. He slid his hands along the waist band until he came to the button above the zipper. He undid the button, then his hand went down to cup Philippe’s growing bulge through the jeans, causing Philippe to moan.

Philippe began to suck on Paul’s neck. Paul unzipped Philippe’s pants and pulled them off with Philippe’s cooperation. Philippe sat on the couch and leaned back, pulling Paul down with him. After a long, tongue twisting kiss, Philippe pushed Paul gently downwards. Paul understood and slid to his knees between Philippe’s legs. He used his mouth and hands to arouse Philippe completely. Philippe moaned as Paul worked; finally, Philippe grunted, “Enough!” Philippe reached down and took Paul’s face between his hands and stood up. He kissed Paul, then his hands unfastened Paul’s pants and pushed them down. He turned Paul towards the couch, pushing on his back to make him bend over. Philippe’s hands went to Paul’s buttocks and his fingers began preparing Paul for his cock. Paul moaned as Philippe entered him and braced his hands against the couch as Philippe fucked him until Philippe finally cried out in release. Exhausted, Philippe withdrew and sank onto the couch.

“Thank you, Paul, now leave me.” Paul scrambled away, pulling up his pants in the process. Paul went to find one of the other “puppies” to find his own release.

Philippe’s thoughts, however, were on the Chevalier. Philippe felt so unsatisfied and hollow inside. None of these puppies were a good replacement for his beloved Chevalier. Philippe hated them for letting him use them, then hated himself for using them. God, he’d made such a mess of his life.

He went to the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. He sat on the couch drinking from the bottle. The wine dulled his senses but didn’t dull the ache in his soul.

Later that day Philippe received a call from Lily confirming his invitation to the party at House of Lorraine the next night.

That night, Philippe again fucked Paul but this time afterwards, he brought Paul to release with his hands and mouth. As he lay with Paul in his arms, he dreamed of the Chevalier. In that dream, the first thing the Chevalier said was, “Mignonette, I’ve been waiting for you.”

 


	6. Hopes and Disappointment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe gets himself invited to a party at House of Lorraine only to get rejected. The modern-day Philippe Lorraine apparently has not been reincarnated.

The next night, Philippe was getting ready for the party. He tried on a simple tee shirt and a pair of jeans. Too plain. He needed to catch the Chevalier’s eye and the Chevalier didn’t do plain. He found another pair of pants, red leather with lacings up the outside seam of each leg. Those could work. He went through his closet and chided himself for letting his wardrobe get so drab. He came across a gold brocade shirt. It had a low v-neck that would expose his chest and billowy sleeves that ended in a lace ruffle. It reminded him of the shirts he wore in the dreams, only they were usually white. Yes, it was time for the peacock in him to come out again. He dug further and finally found what he was looking for—a black leather vest.

He laid the clothes on his bed and took a shower. He was beginning to look forward to tonight. He dressed and stood in front of the mirror. Should he add a gold chain or two? Why not?  It was a night for pulling out all the stops. His biggest fear was that the Chevalier would not be interested in him at all. Would the Chevalier remember him and what they had meant to each other?

Studying his collection of shoes and boots, most of which looked drab and worn out, he decided on his mid-calf boots with the gold chains on them. He hadn’t worn them often, so they were still in good shape. He looked in the full-length mirror. A rather gaudy rock star stared back at him—from the long, dark, curly hair down to his chained boots. He had an urge to go back to the simple tee shirt and frayed jeans but reminded himself this was a high fashion party. Then he shook his head; he wasn’t sure if what he was wearing was considered proper “high fashion,” but he was absolutely sure the plain jeans and tee weren’t.

As he left the bedroom, he almost ran into Paul.  “How do I look?” he asked Paul then remembered that was a question he had asked the Chevalier often and the answer had always been “Passable.”

But Paul wasn’t the Chevalier. He answered, “Good enough to eat and I’m hungry,” and gave Philippe a questioning look.

“Sorry, not tonight.”

“Maybe when you get home later tonight?”

“We’ll see how things go.” He leaned over and kissed Paul gently on the forehead. “Sorry, Paul. You do go out of your way to please me. I should treat you better. I will probably be late, if I come home at all. Don’t wait up.”

Outside, he had a limousine waiting for him. Yes, he was going in style tonight. He found the bottle of champagne he had ordered with the limo and poured himself a glass. By the time the limo came close to the House of Lorraine, he had downed three glasses. His jitters were gone, and he was feeling optimistic. There were people up and down the street hoping to get a glimpse of someone famous. Philippe chuckled to himself. There was a damned purple carpet with ropes to keep the press and onlookers back. They were holding his car back to let the arrivals before him make their way up that purple carpet. Purple, so like the Chevalier to put such a twist on an event like this. Finally, his car was waved forward to the carpet area and his driver got out to open his door. He saw people craning to see who was getting out of the limo next. He hoped he’d get a good response. It had been so long since he’d been to a social event like this. He wasn’t even sure these people would know who he was. He took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.

The crowd shouted “Philippe!” “Over here, Philippe!” He breathed a sigh of relief. Stardom was so fleeting. You could be in one day and out the next. Looked like he was still in. He thought to himself as he waved to the crowd, “This bodes well for the new album. People still give a damn.”

Then came the slow trip up the purple carpet, stopping along the way for photographs and interviews. This was the part he hated. Just let him walk to the door, damn it. But his slow progress meant the public was still interested in him. What would have been worse was a quick walk up the carpet with no one stopping him for a photo or brief interview. He answered the same question over and over, “When is your new album coming out?” with the same answer, “Soon!” The truth was, however, that he had some songs written but had not started actual work on it. The record company had been pushing hard for him to begin recording and he had procrastinated. He didn’t like to be pushed.

He finally reached the door and was met by the party spokesperson. “Philippe Orleans, welcome! Mr. Lorraine was so happy to get your request to attend! He looks forward to talking to you!”

Philippe nodded his head, “I am honored he granted me an invitation. I look forward to talking to Mr. Lorraine, too.”

Philippe walked in and looked around. “Typical, high society party. Lots of glitz, no substance,” he thought as he found a spot where he had a good view of the activities. His plan was to stand back and wait for an appropriate time to approach Lorraine. However, he had not counted on the steady parade of people who stopped to talk to him—idle useless chatter. While a young, vapid woman was yapping away at him about nothing, Philippe saw Lorraine enter the room. Philippe’s heart was beating fast as he stared at the modern-day Chevalier.

The Chevalier was bucking the modern men’s trend of skimpy short jackets with an all-white longer-length jacket that went to mid-calf. The material of the jacket was an exquisitely textured brocade. The sleeves were three-quarter length, slightly bell-shaped with two-inch cuffs. Philippe saw a Versailles influence in its cut.  Lorraine wore a sand-colored simple silk tee shirt with a deep v-neck exposing his chest under the jacket. His pencil-leg pants were in the same white brocade as the jacket. His shoes were white leather sneakers. His hair also went against the trend for shorter hair, in that it was sandy-blonde, straight and shoulder length. He still wore his center part and his pencil-thin moustache. He had lost none of his flair as he floated into the room, all eyes on him.

A few claps grew into a round of loud applause, congratulating the designer on his new line. After a few minutes, Lorraine raised his hands and yelled, “Enough! It is time to party! Drink stations are open!” The crowd cheered and moved towards the drink stations. A row of tables laden with opulent food flanked the drink stations. Lorraine had gone all out. Philippe decided to try and make his way over to Lorraine, but someone would stop to talk to him and the crowd would fill in again and he would be no closer. He gave up and found a good place to stand out of the way where he could watch Lorraine. He was trying to see if there was any indication in Lorraine’s actions that might mean he had an awareness of his past life, but it was impossible to tell.

He was studying Lorraine when Lorraine just happened to look his way and their eyes met. He saw a smile spread across Lorraine’s face and his eyes twinkle. Philippe couldn’t tell if Lorraine saw Philippe the rock star or Philippe his past lover. However, he did see Lorraine trying to make his way towards him. The lady at the door did say Lorraine wanted to talk to him. He started making his way towards Lorraine and they finally met up.

Lorraine was the first to speak, “I am honored that you would want to attend my little celebration!”

Philippe answered, “Your successful new line is the talk of the town. You have much to celebrate.”

“Would it be possible to get a private moment with you? I have some things I need to talk to you about.”

Philippe’s heart skipped a beat. Was that the Chevalier he knew talking? “Yes, but I don’t know how in this crowd.”

“Come, follow me.” Lorraine turned and said something to one of his companions. Several men went ahead clearing a path. They were able to slip into a private room.

When the door closed, they were alone. Philippe studied Lorraine’s face for any hint of his Chevalier, ready to go to him for an embrace and kiss. Lorraine, in turn was studying him. It was Lorraine who spoke first. “I am confused. After ignoring my many invitations to you to attend various events and parties, why did you want an invitation _now _?”__

____

“You sent me invitations?”

____

“Yes, as soon as I heard about the rock star who claimed to be _the_ Philippe duc d’Orleans, I sent you an invitation to attend one of my parties. You never replied even though I sent quite a few over the years. I thought it would be interesting for us to meet as the descendants of those famous lovers.”

____

Philippe felt despair. The Philippe Lorraine before him thought of himself as a descendant of the original. He had not been reincarnated.

____

Philippe studied his face carefully. He was certainly a spitting image of his Chevalier. How could those genes have been so perfectly preserved through so many generations?

____

“Are you going to say something or just stand there staring at me?” Lorraine’s words brought Philippe out of his reverie.

____

“Oh, sorry. I was lost in a thought.”

____

“So, you are still capable of thought after those years of drug use. That’s good to know. You’re quite pale—you should get out more often. And those clothes! Very rock star—but dated. And that brings me to one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I know you’ll have a new album out soon and that will mean live concerts and a tour. I’d like a chance to design some of your stage clothes.”

____

“I don’t do the drugs anymore. And yes, I don’t get out much. But that is going to change. I’ve been through a social slump.” Philippe gave Lorraine a sly smile, “But with your help, that could change.”

____

Philippe thought to himself, “If I could just kiss him, once.” Philippe moved towards Lorraine and reached out his hand to touch the sleeve of his jacket. “You have a keen sense of style. This jacket is wonderful. The material is so exquisite.” Philippe ran his hand up the sleeve, feeling the material and moving closer to Lorraine. He made his move and put his lips on Lorraine’s. Lorraine responded for a moment before pulling away.

____

“Sorry. I can’t. I know of your harem of drug-addled boys. In today’s world one must be careful of one’s choice of lover. There are too many diseases and bad things out there.”

____

Philippe drew back, offended. “They are not boys, they are young men over the age of consent. And they may dabble in drugs, but that is their choice. They know they can’t take that stuff in front of me. I won’t tolerate it. And as for disease, the record company requires myself and anyone involved with me to undergo thorough health exams at least four times a year. They’ve made an investment in me and want to keep me healthy.”

____

“That is good to know, but still, just because our great, great, great grandfathers were lovers doesn’t mean we should be lovers. That wasn’t my reason for wanting to meet with you.”

____

“Have you seen paintings of those grandfathers? How very much we look like them? Doesn’t it strike you odd that the two of us exist here, today, so very much like them?”

____

“Oh, my dear, are you going to bring up your reincarnation theory? Do you really believe you are _the_ Philippe duc d’Orleans from three hundred plus years ago? I thought that was all publicity stuff.”

____

Philippe wondered, should he tell Lorraine about his brother Louis? Would that make him believe him? Or would it just put a barrier between them—convince the Chevalier that he was mentally unstable? Then the thought struck him, if the Lorraine before him didn’t remember the love they once had, what good was it anyway?

____

“Maybe one day you will be able to understand. But for now, let’s just let it drop. It is my rock persona and I’m intrigued at what you might do for my stage clothes. I’m afraid the record company might think you too expensive.”

____

“Maybe we could work something out if you were involved with the music for my shows. You know the line I just released is called the Chevalier line. It’s an homage to that era.”

____

“Yes, I noticed that. But my music has nothing to do with what was played during that era. It’s rock not classical.”

____

“Yes, very dark rock. Sad and depressing for the most part. If we could capture the spirit of the era with your undercurrent of dark and brooding, that could work very well. It would be different to say the least. I’ll have my people call your agency and see if they can’t work something out. We could make quite a nice fashion pairing. But enough, I need to get back out to my party. Nice talking to you!” And Lorraine was out the door and gone, leaving Philippe alone with his thoughts.

____

Philippe was thinking of the “pairing” as Lorraine had called it. He was sure Lorraine wasn’t thinking of the type of pairing he was thinking of now. Then he thought that at least puppy Paul would be happy when he got home tonight. Very happy.

____


	7. The Rock Star Renews His Social Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe makes changes in his home life and kicks out all the puppies except Paul. He and Paul embark on a new social life with Philippe's goal to make Lorraine jealous.

In the car on the way home, Philippe called his agent, Lily, at home. A sleepy voice answered. “Hello, Philippe, is everything ok?”

Philippe answered, “No, it is not. Lorraine told me tonight that he had sent invitations to me many times over the last few years and I had not responded. He sent them to you and I never received them. Why?”

“Uh, invitations? I was not aware of any invitations. I’m sure we would have told you if there had been any.”

“Why would he lie? Find out what happened to them. Also, Lorraine wants to design the clothes for my tour and he wants me to help with the music for his shows. His people are going to contact you tomorrow. Make it happen.”

“I will make it a priority tomorrow to find out what happened to those invitations. And it is wonderful that the two of you are going to collaborate! This collaboration could get both of you a lot of publicity. It could be the biggest news of the year. I’m excited for the possibilities! Is there perhaps a personal level to this collaboration?”

“No. But I want Lorraine to design some clothes for me right now. If he’s too busy to do it, then get whoever is his top competition to do it. I am ending my seclusion and want to get involved in the social scene again. Get me invited to the top events especially if they are ones Lorraine will be at. And in the negotiations with Lorraine’s people, see to it that I meet face to face with Lorraine as much as possible.  I want to negotiate with him personally, not depend on lackeys.”

“Got it. Now about your album. Do you have anything for me to relay to the record execs?”

“No. Your priority is those lost invitations! Now go back to sleep. Thank you. Good night.” He hung up.

He was not in the best of moods when he arrived at the flat and the scene that unfolded before him as he walked in the door, sent him into a furious rage. There were people everywhere in various stages of undress, loud music blasting, and drug paraphernalia on the tables. His puppies had obviously not expected him home so early—probably not at all. The puppy closest to the electronics, scrambled to turn the music down. The others stopped what they were doing and just stared at Philippe standing inside the door—much like deer in the headlights of an oncoming train.

Philippe shouted, “All you who don’t live here get out! All of you! And take that drug crap with you! Where is Paul?”

One of the puppies managed to stammer, “Asleep in his room.”

“Asleep? How can he sleep with all this noise!” Philippe stepped away from the door to allow the stream of partiers to exit. They took all the drugs and paraphernalia with them.

Soon the only ones left in the room were Philippe and his puppies. Paul still had not made an appearance.

“Tomorrow I want all of you to take your possessions and leave. I will arrange a couple of hotel rooms for you for two weeks. After that you are all on your own.”

Then Philippe went to find Paul.  To his surprise, Paul was asleep in his room. Alone. When Philippe flipped on the light a confused and groggy Paul mumbled, “Philippe, you are home early. Is everything ok?”

“Paul, things are going to change after tonight.  I am kicking everyone out—except you. There will be no more orgies, no more drugs. If you stay, you must get clean. I will talk to you tomorrow about the part I expect you to play in the future. Now, scoot over in that bed, I need to fuck someone!”

The next morning, Philippe awoke with Paul curled up in his arms. Philippe stroked his hair. Paul had always stood out from the other puppies in his devotion to Philippe. On the way home, last night Philippe had already made his mind up to clear out all the puppies, including Paul. The party he found had just made it easier and given him a legitimate reason to carry out his plans. But Paul was complicating things. Or was he? If he was going to start socializing again, why not have an adoring Paul on his arm? If there was anything of the old Chevalier in the modern-day Lorraine, jealousy could just be the way to bring it out.

Paul was a good-looking guy—one of the prerequisites for choosing his puppies had been physical beauty. Paul had long, wavy blonde hair, green eyes and a sweet smile. Then it dawned on Philippe that Paul reminded him of his Chevalier. That resemblance was probably what had led him to choose him in the first place. Paul’s face was more rounded and boyish than the Chevalier’s, though.

But was it fair of him to use Paul to make Lorraine jealous? Philippe reminded himself that Paul had been the one to offer himself up to Philippe. It was as if he begged to be used. Philippe would be a fool not to accept what was offered to him. In exchange, he would ensure that Paul would get the successful modeling career that he had wanted. There would be no more wasted days of idleness for the two of them. He was prepared to send Paul to rehab if he needed it to kick the drugs. Philippe thought to himself that it was probably good that things were working out this way. He had felt himself slipping back into the hopelessness that would’ve led him back into drug abuse. Now he had renewed hope for the future. His goal was to lure Lorraine back to him. To do that he had to make himself worthy of Lorraine’s affection.

His priority for the day, however, was to find out what had happened to those lost invitations. To that end he dressed in jeans and tee shirt, tucked his hair under a hat, donned sun glasses and called a driver to take him to his agency. Lily and the rest of the agency were surprised when he showed up in person at the office. Many of them had never met him in person before.

Lily was the first to react, “Philippe! What a surprise! I was just about to call you. Come in to my office and let’s talk.”

They went into her office and she closed the door. She beckoned Philippe to a chair and shuffled files on her desk and pulled one out.

“Well. What have you found?” Philippe’s tone let her know he wasn’t in the mood for chit-chat.

“I have found the lost invitations—and much more. It appears during the time that you were using drugs, your previous agent, Kathy Smith, had insisted that all incoming mail, offers, inquiries and so on, go through her. She started a secret file of these things that only she and her assistant could view. Everything was routed to her and she made a physical file and put the digital things into a password protected digital folder.”

“Kathy? Yes, I vaguely remember her. Unpleasant bitch. Thought she could control me. Didn’t I get her fired?”

“Yes, you did. She was fired with no notice and escorted out the door immediately, as per your orders.”

“So how does that relate to the lost invitations?”

“As you know, it took a while to find a suitable replacement. In the confusion, her orders to route everything to those files continued, carried out by her assistant. Eventually that assistant left but never told anyone about those files. That is where those invitations are—along with a lot of other correspondence. I am so sorry, but I had no idea these files existed. I have the physical invitations and correspondence in this box.”

She reached under the desk and pulled out a box—the size that could hold a case of copy paper. “We haven’t been able to get into the digital folder, yet. We will probably have to hire a security expert to figure out a way into the folder.”

Lily continued, “We have a room where you can go to look through the physical items. I’m sure you’d like some privacy for that.”

“Thank you for finding all this for me so quickly.”

“About your request to start socializing again, how soon do you want to start? I’ve got an invitation for you and a plus one for a party two days from now.”

“Accept it for me and a plus one. What about the fashion consultation?”

“House of Lorraine had no openings, but Pierre Viardot is eager to consult with you. He and Lorraine are big rivals, as you asked. I can set up an appointment for you.”

“Can you get me and my friend in this afternoon?”

“I’ll try. Why don’t I take you to that private room, so you can go through this box of stuff while I check on an appointment with Viardot?”

Soon, Philippe was sitting in the room going through the box of letters, invitations and other material. He found the bundle of Lorraine invitations.  Lorraine had sent many invitations in the beginning, many with attached letters. None of the letters were romantic in nature, but always expressed his desire to get to know Philippe as the descendants of the famous lovers. As time wore on, Lorraine’s letters got less and less friendly.

The last letter read, “Philippe, I am offended that you have not responded to my previous invitations. I assure you I have no ulterior motives other than a genuine interest in meeting you as the descendants of our famous grandfathers. I do understand you seem to be going through some personal problems. Meeting me is probably the least important thing for you right now. Therefore, I leave it up to you whether we meet in the future or not. I am hoping one day you will be able to kick these drugs and rebuild your shattered social life and career. Until then, I wish you the best.”

Philippe thought that it was no wonder Lorraine had been so distant. If he had been the rejected one, he would’ve given up much sooner. But it wasn’t rejection—it was total ignorance on his part. He had been unaware of the invitations. The truth, however, was that during those days of drug addiction, if he had received the invitations, he probably would’ve ignored them. All that had mattered in those foggy days were his next fix.

Then he started going through the other letters and found quite a few from a group that called themselves “The Reincarnation Family.” They all claimed to have been reincarnated and offered friendship, conversation on the topic and possibly some understanding of the phenomenon. Philippe thought maybe they might have some insight on how to handle a relationship with someone you felt had been reincarnated but who had not become aware of it. Maybe even Louis might find them useful in understanding what was happening to him. It felt strange to think of Louis—his brother. He kept forgetting he had a family now. They just didn’t seem to have much of an impact on his life. He was too used to being on his own to find much of a place for them. And again, he pushed all thought of them aside.

Philippe put the invitations and letters back in the box and told Lily to send them to his home. He no longer trusted the agency to keep these safe. Lily also told him she had gotten him an appointment with Viardot at 3pm for him and a friend. Philippe then asked Lily to make reservations for hotel rooms for his puppies for two weeks. “Nothing fancy, do not include room service or the courtesy fridge in the rooms—and put them four to a room. Oh, and arrange to update the modeling portfolio of Paul Delico. He will be my plus one for this afternoon and all invitations from here on out.”

When Philippe got home, he was glad to see the puppies had packed up their belongings and were awaiting instructions from him. There had been times in the past when he had lost his temper and threatened to throw them all out—but he had always changed his mind. He figured they were expecting the same thing today, but he would surprise them all.

“My agent will be sending some cars to take you to your new hotel for the next two weeks. There will be no room service, no charging anything extra to the room. If there is excessive noise or any complaint from the hotel, then you will be out immediately. You will be responsible for damage to the room.  I do appreciate the companionship you have all given me, but things are changing with me and I no longer want to live that lifestyle. You broke my trust with that party last night, but this would have happened anyway, maybe not as quick and harsh, but ties were going to be broken. Let this be a change for you, too. Go and make something of your lives. Or not. You are no longer my problem.” Philippe turned and went to his room, beckoning for Paul to follow him.

In the room, Philippe explained about the appointment with Viardot. “In two days, we will start our foray into social events. We will attend together, arm in arm. My agent is arranging for you to update your portfolio and get your modeling career back on track. Together, we will be the most talked about couple on the social scene! Do you have any problem with that?”

Paul was grinning from ear to ear, “No, my dear Philippe. I am excited for it all. Thank you for choosing me as your companion. I will not disappoint you.”

“I am sure you won’t.” Philippe stepped forward and took Paul’s face in his hands and kissed him. Paul responded hungrily. Philippe pushed Paul on the bed and began unbuckling his pants. Paul was ready for Philippe’s mouth on him. Paul might not have been so happy if he knew that when Philippe looked at him he was seeing his Chevalier and not Paul. In Philippe’s mind it was the Chevalier that Philippe brought to orgasm, not the little puppy, Paul.

Several days later, Philippe and Paul were dressing for the party. Philippe was surprised at how quiet and empty the flat seemed without his puppies. He wasn’t sure he liked this solitude. Paul was a decent companion and an even better sex partner. Paul was always ready for anything, but Philippe was plagued with guilt for using the young man as a replacement for his Chevalier.

The meeting with Viardot had been productive. Viardot had sold them a good number of items from his current clothing line and was in the process of designing a few items specifically for Philippe. Tonight, he had decided on a burgundy shirt that had a fluffy bow at the neckline, was fairly fitted in the torso, and had loose, pleated sleeves gathered at the cuffs. The material was a matte satin with a shiny embossed small fleur de lis pattern. The shirt was tucked into a pair of dark tan, sueded-cotton, form-fitting pants. The pant bottoms were tucked into dark brown faux snake skin leather ankle boots. He studied himself in the mirror. Still rock star but with a flair that suited him.

Paul was ecstatic about his new clothes. He wore tight, gray linen, pencil-leg pants topped by a gray, polished cotton, tight-fitting, collared and cuffed shirt with one slit pocket. The fun part was the pink, grey, red and black paisley print on the cuffs and underside of the collar along with tiny pink and red buttons. Paul had blow-dried his hair to sweep back at the sides. The two of them made a sharp-looking couple.

As they were walking out to the car, Paul leaned over and kissed Philippe’s cheek and said, “Thanks for choosing me. When we are at the party, how do you want me to act? Is It ok for me to show you my love and affection or should I keep it cool?”

“Shower me with all the love and affection you feel. I want the world to know we are together.”

In the car, Philippe and Paul shared a long, intense kiss. Paul was ready to carry it farther, but Philippe gently pushed him back. “Let’s have some champagne to celebrate.  I spent too much time putting on these clothes to take them off this soon. There will be plenty of time later, my dear Paul.”

This party was a charity bash full of celebrities and high society types. Philippe got out of the car first, then helped Paul out with a flourish for the photographers. He took Paul’s arm in his, kissed him softly on the mouth, and they walked arm and arm down the sidewalk to the event. The constant flash of cameras made it a little difficult to see. However, Philippe knew the cameras meant publicity and they were exactly why he had wanted to attend the event. He had even made a modest donation to the charity. He wanted his face and name out there to let the world know, Philippe duc d’Orleans was back.

Inside, Philippe and Paul floated through the crowd, conversing with the many people interested in him. This time he was ready to talk some about his new album. When asked what it would be about he answered, “Lost love, grief, self-doubt, suicide, rebirth.” When pressed for more information he would say, “Sorry, you will just have to wait and listen to it.” He also was quick to let people know the clothes he wore were designed by Viardot. He hoped that bit of information would get back to Lorraine. Philippe also proudly introduced Paul Delico as his beloved companion with a bright future as a model. Lots of good contacts could be made through chance meetings at parties like these.

Finally, Philippe saw the person he had searched for all night, Lorraine, but did not approach him. Instead, he continued floating through the crowd, but made a point to stay within sight of Lorraine. His hope was that Lorraine would approach him. He also hoped that Lorraine would see the affection and attention he and Paul had for each other. Sure enough, Lorraine made a subtle path towards them, finally meeting up with them.

Lorraine showed feigned surprise at finding Philippe at this event. “Well, if it isn’t my dear Philippe! Who is this beautiful creature you have on your arm?”

“This is Paul Delico, an up and coming model.”

“He certainly has the looks to make it in the fashion world. And talking about fashion, you seem to have upped your game in that regard! Your look is still rock n roll but with some real class.”

“Thank you. They are from Viardot’s latest collection. He’s working on some personal pieces for me. I realized that my wardrobe had gotten rather stale and boring. I had so much fun at your gala, that I decided I needed to stop being such a recluse and get out more. It is an idea my record company and agent support whole-heartedly. It’s good to get one’s face and name out there before one drops a new album.”

“And when will this new album be dropping? Anytime soon?”

“Unfortunately, I had hit a rough spot and the ideas had grown cold, but finally I have ideas flowing again. I can’t say for sure when the album will be ready for release, but if I stay on this creative roll it shouldn’t be long.”

“I understand our people are meeting soon to discuss our collaborations. I hope your creativity continues to roll so you can work on my fashion show music. I so look forward to designing your wardrobe for your tour. And if you need something before that, don’t hesitate to call my shop.”

“Actually, I tried to get an appointment with you earlier this week and you were booked up. It was then I decided to go with Viardot.”

“Did you? I am so sorry you couldn’t get in. I am in such high demand and spread so thin these days. But, I will make sure my people know to find time for you in the future. If I can’t find time to design something for a friend, then what good is it being a designer?”

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, and I wanted to apologize to you. I discovered what happened to those invitations you sent to me over these past few years. I had this agent several years ago. I didn’t realize it, but she was bungling things up big time. When I realized her incompetence, I fired her—it was one of those uncomfortable scenes where she was escorted out of the building. It turns out that she had given orders that all my communications were to go to her and be kept locked up. After she was fired an underling of hers continued to amass the communications. Finally, she, too, was let go, but she said nothing about the hidden communications. After our last meeting, I asked my current agent to investigate the matter and that is when she discovered what had happened. I now have read your communications and feel the need to apologize profusely. I was touched at how faithfully you had pursued a dialogue with me and regret that it took so long for us to finally speak.”

“Thank you for the explanation. I am relieved to know that it wasn’t your intention to reject me. I know you went through some troubling personal problem and that probably didn’t help matters either.”

“I do admit that the years I struggled with my drug problem followed by my self-imposed seclusion contributed to things—she was hired as an agent because of my lack of caring. I feel right now that I have just emerged from a cold black pit and can see the blue sky and feel the warmth of the sun again.”

“I guess I never truly realized what you were going through. I am glad to see you have made a breakthrough!”

Philippe thought he saw a flicker of his Chevalier in Lorraine’s eyes at that last sentence, but then it was gone as Lorraine said, “Talk about agents, mine is over there beckoning me to her. It has been lovely talking to you and your model friend. I look forward to our future collaboration!” Then he was off. Philippe watched as the crowd seemed to part for Lorraine. He had such a mesmerizing presence about him. Philippe was brought back to the real world by Paul tapping on his arm.

“Philippe, are you ok? You’ve been staring in that direction for quite a while. Were you staring after that Lorraine guy?” Philippe could hear the hurt in Paul’s voice.

“Sorry, it’s just that I’m trying to figure out exactly who that Lorraine is. Our great, great, great grandfathers were very good friends. I feel an obligation to befriend him out of respect for our families, but it just doesn’t seem that possible.”

“Yes, he does seem very taken up with himself. Conceited and rather condescending. I don’t think I like him much.”

“I don’t know about you, but I think I have had enough of this party. Shall we call it a night and go home?”

Paul’s face lit up and he smiled a wicked little smile, “I’ve been waiting all night to take those clothes off you.” Paul reached over and put his hand on Philippe’s bulge. “There’s something I’d like to get my mouth on.”

Philippe felt himself responding and gently pulled Paul’s hand away. He decided they needed to get out of there quickly, before they created a real scandal. Then as they turned to go, he saw Lorraine looking directly at him. When Lorraine realized Philippe was looking back he gave Philippe a wink and a nod then turned away.

On the way home, Paul was happily working on little tricks to tease Philippe into arousal, but all Philippe could think of was that wink and nod. Had Lorraine seen Paul’s bold hand move? Again, poor unwitting Paul became Philippe’s substitute for the Chevalier. What Paul felt, however, was that for some reason their love-making had changed. Philippe had always been somewhat rough when he took Paul from behind and was insistent that Paul use his mouth to bring Philippe to orgasm, but Philippe had had no desire to reciprocate. Paul had usually had to go to one of the others for his own satisfaction after he had satisfied Philippe and Philippe was done with him. Now things were entirely different. There was a gentleness in Philippe that had not been there before, and Philippe now cared as much for Paul’s pleasure as he did his own. Paul did not realize how blind he was to the truth. It was that wink and nod that spurred Philippe’s love-making. Paul was nothing but a substitute for the real object of Philippe’s affection. Paul was feeling secure in this new aspect of their relationship, but he did not realize how close he was to having his heart shattered by that wink and nod.


	8. An Arrest and a Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Paul attend a sleazy party and Philippe is falsely accused of rape. A friend of Lorraine's comes to the rescue. A connection is made.

The next few parties they attended were duds. Lorraine did not show up at either of them. They hung around at the first for a while then decided to call it a night. At the second party, there was a lot of open drug use. It seemed like everybody had a pill, a line, or a toke to share. Philippe politely refused them all and Paul followed his lead. The drugs had their desired effect of loosening inhibitions, and people were making out on couches, in chairs, and in corners. Just about everywhere you turned there was someone in an embrace.

Paul tried getting a little “frisky” with Philippe, but Philippe gently pushed him away. “We can do whatever we want in the privacy of our flat. We don’t need to make a public spectacle of ourselves.”

Paul backed off, pouting a little. “You are so uptight—where’s your rock n roll spirit? Maybe you need a hit of something to loosen you up. I think I need to go to the little boy’s room. I’ll be right back.”

Philippe reached out and grabbed Paul’s arm, “Don’t do it.”

“Don’t do what? Take a piss?”

“You know very well, there will be someone in that bathroom with something to sell or share. You’ve done very well staying off the drugs, so far. Don’t ruin it now.”

“Warning taken. Now how do I know _you_ won’t take or do something while I’m gone?”

“On second thought, let’s just get the hell out of here. There’s no one here I want to see anyway.”

“But I do need to piss. Don’t think I could make it out to the car much less home.”

“OK, go on. Go piss but make it quick and no stopping to talk to anyone.” Paul practically sprinted for the restroom.

As Philippe waited for Paul to return a very wasted bleach-blonde woman came up to him. “I know you. You’re someone” and she stumbled and leaned on Philippe for support. “Yeah, you’re famous,” she slurred, with her hand on his shoulder for support. “Can I get a kiss famous man?” and she tried to kiss Philippe hard on the mouth, but he pulled her away.

“Sister, you are barking up the wrong tree,” he said as he was trying to hold her back.

“What’s wrong?” She suddenly grabbed his penis through his pants, “Doesn’t this work for girls?”

He grabbed her hand and leaned to whisper in her ear, “Touch me again and you lose the hand. Now go bother someone who gives a damn” and he gave her a hard shove. She started to raise her voice to protest what she took as rough treatment but one of her friends saw what was happening and rushed over to steer her away.

“But he hit me! I want to call the police and have him arrested! For assault and battery and rape.”

Several other friends came over to help escort the woman away and he heard one telling the girl, “If the cops come it is going to be you who get arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct, now calm down.”

Paul came back just at the tail end when she was screaming about the rape. “What happened while I was gone? Why does she think you raped her?”

“She’s drunk and probably high. She tried groping me and I pushed her away and warned her to stop. Let’s get out of here. I really don’t like this place.”

They quickly left and went home. The next morning his phone rang very early. It was an almost hysterical Lily. “What did you do last night at that party?”

Philippe was barely awake, “What?”

“There’s a Twitter feed that shows some hysterical woman accusing you of rape! Our phones are ringing off the hook wanting a statement.”

“A woman accusing me of what? Oh, god no.”

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. There was this wasted woman who came up to me, groped me and tried to kiss me. I grabbed her hands and pushed her away and told her to leave me alone. Her friends came to take her away and she started screaming all sorts of stuff like I had tried to assault her and rape her. Her friends dragged her out of there and Paul and l left, too.”

“You left without getting any witnesses to corroborate your side of the story?”

“There was no story. She was high, drunk, out of her mind. We were in the middle of the room with lots of people around. I’m sure there are plenty of people who saw what happened. Talk to her friends, they will know what happened. You know I have no interest in women.”

“Sexual assault has little to do with actual sex. It is usually power-motivated. Being gay doesn’t exempt you from rape. This could blow up into a big mess. We need to get a handle on this before it does. Do you know anyone who was there who could vouch for you? Who saw the event from start to finish? How about Paul? He certainly saw what happened, although they might think he might lie to protect you.”

“Actually, Paul had gone to the restroom. We were getting ready to leave and I was waiting for him to come back.”

“Think! Who was there that you know—that we can call?”

“It was a pretty sleazy party. Drugs everywhere, that’s why we had decided to leave. I just didn’t like the atmosphere. Let’s see, that music producer, Don Ron, Bon—not sure of his last name. He produces stuff out of Little Ear studio. He was there but I don’t know if he saw anything. Several members of the Silver Tongue band were there, but they were pretty wasted. They may have had an entourage of people with them, I’m not sure.”

“That gives me somewhere to start. Don’t answer your phone unless you know for sure who it is. Get up, get some coffee and make a list of who was there. Have Paul help you.”

“You seriously can’t believe this is going to amount to anything, do you? I didn’t hit her, all I did was take her hands off me and give her a shove.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to keep it from turning bad. I will talk to you in a bit.” She hung up.

Philippe decided to check his twitter feed and to his surprise, it had blown up. He was getting all kinds of tweets asking what happened. He toyed with the idea of answering those from close friends, but he didn’t have any real close friends. Most were just acquaintances. He decided to wait and let the agency tell him how to handle twitter. He was already seeing some very disturbing tweets from people he didn’t know. He wasn’t a twitter expert, so he just left it alone.

Calls kept coming in to his phone and he kept sending them to voicemail. Then he realized one of the calls was from his brother, Louis. He decided to call Louis back.

“Philippe, what the hell is going on? What did you do?”

He explained exactly what happened.

“Have you seen that video they shot? It’s pretty damning. Here let me forward it to you. Watch it and call me back.”

He watched the video and was surprised at how different the video was from his recollection. The video was shot from what seemed to him a strange angle. In it, the woman looked like her clothes had been partially ripped off, her hair was a mess, her makeup smeared and there were possible bruises on her face. She was certainly hysterical. But, that was the way she had looked when she had approached him. Her blouse had been partially unbuttoned and was slipping off one shoulder. Her makeup was a smeared mess and her eyes darkened with smeared mascara. Now, that he thought about it, he remembered that the top button of her jeans was unbuttoned and the zipper partially down. She looked like she had just had sex with someone. And she reeked of alcohol, piss and too much cheap perfume.

She was the one who made first contact when she tried to kiss and grope him and was falling all over him. Surely, there were people who saw that. His only aggression towards her was to grab her offending hand and push her away. He had talked into her ear but that was because the music was loud, and he didn’t want to shout and draw attention to the poor woman. Paul came into the kitchen. They drank coffee and discussed what had happened and what Paul had seen of it.

Then the doorbell buzzed. Paul went to see who it was and turned pale. “It’s the police! They want to come in and talk to you.”

“Well, let them in. We have nothing to hide.” He was glad the days of “puppy mess” were gone. The flat was tidy and clean.

Philippe got up to greet the policemen.

“Mr. Orleans, we would like you to come down to the station to answer some questions.”

“Can’t you ask them here?”

“We’d prefer you come to the station.”

“Am I under arrest?”

“No, not at the present.”

“I think I should call my lawyer.”

“That is your right, but you really don’t want to go that route. We can probably clear all this up with the answers to just a few questions.”

“Paul, call the agency and tell them what is happening. Have them get me a lawyer ASAP.” Then he turned to the policemen and said, “Ok, I will come with you, but I will not answer any questions until I have a lawyer.”

Then he remembered he never called his brother back. “Paul, take my phone and call my brother. Tell him what has happened.”

As they stepped outside a new nightmare unfolded. There was a flock of reporters and cameras, shouting questions at him and taking photos. At least the policemen had not cuffed him. That was a hopeful sign that he really wasn’t under arrest, yet.

At the police station, they put him in a room and left him there for a while. Sitting there waiting was pure torture. For his own safety, they had emptied his pockets, done a pat down, and inventoried and logged his items. It was really feeling like an arrest to him.

Finally, someone came in and asked him all the same questions they had asked him at the flat. Now there were also questions like “Did you have a previous relationship with this woman?” “Were you in love with her?” “Did you have an argument with her?” “Where did you have sex with her?” “When did you have sex with her?” “What kind of sex did you have with her?” And on, and on, and on. When it seemed like they had asked every perceivable question of him, they started the cycle again. This went on for hours as several officers took turns questioning him. The only positive thing he thought was that they had not officially arrested him and read him his rights. They did have to read him his rights, didn’t they? And weren’t they supposed to stop questioning him when he asked for a lawyer? He asked one of the policemen that question and he answered, “That only is valid if you have not answered any questions. You answered questions at your flat so that invalidated your right to not have questions asked of you. Once your lawyer gets here, then we have to stop questioning you if you ask.”

So, where was his lawyer? He knew the agency should have sent a lawyer by now. This whole thing was very confusing. And every time he said, “I decline to comment until my lawyer is here” it made the police officers madder and madder. He was exhausted and knew it must be at least mid-afternoon by now. Then, the police officer questioning him left the room and he was alone for a long time. One hour or two? He couldn’t tell because time had lost all meaning to him. He had laid his head on the table and closed his eyes. Maybe he could sleep a bit. He began to think they had forgotten about him.

He was getting very hungry. He had not even had a chance to eat breakfast and it must be close to supper time by now. Was it possible that the policemen had changed shifts and the new shift was not aware of him in the room? He laid his head on the table and this time drifted into a light, very troubled sleep. Then suddenly, the door swung open and a new officer he had not seen before came in and loudly announced, “Mr. Orleans, you are free to go.”

“What about the charges against me?”

“There were no charges filed. You were not booked. You are free to go.”

“Are you telling me that if I had asked to leave earlier today, I could have?”

“You never asked so the question is moot.”

“What about the complaint against me?”

“It has been dropped. Now, unless you want me to find something else to charge you with, I suggest you leave. You have some friends out there waiting for you.”

He stood up and quickly exited the room. They led him through a corridor to the lobby area. The first face he saw was Paul’s worried face, then his brother, Louis, and then, to his great surprise, Lorraine!

Paul ran up to him and gave him a huge hug and kiss. Louis walked up and put his hand on his back and said, “No talking, let’s just get out of here. We can talk once we are outside. Lorraine stood quietly to the side smiling that enigmatic smile of his. They all walked quickly out of the building.

Lorraine spoke first, “I imagine you are famished! There is a restaurant just around the corner that is passable. I suggest we go there and get something to eat and drink, then talk.”

Philippe noticed that Louis kept giving Lorraine sideways glances. He was probably matching Lorraine’s face to the one in his dreams. Philippe was very interested in knowing what part Lorraine had played, if any, in his release. Why was he here at all?

Finally, they were seated, had ordered and were sipping from a bottle of very fine wine that Lorraine had insisted on buying.

“Ok, I think all of you, except Lorraine, know what happened to get me arrested or whatever that was.”

Lorraine answered, “Oh, but I know exactly what happened to you.”

Paul butt in, “Yes it was Lorraine who corroborated your story and got you released.”

Philippe was confused. Lorraine had not been at the party. He hadn’t seen him, at least.

“Yes, my dear Philippe, I was at the party with my usual retinue of hangers on. I had just arrived, so you probably had not seen me. Lucky for you, one of my party, Robyn uses his phone to record everything. Everywhere he goes, he is recording what is happening. It’s almost an addiction for him. We had noticed when we arrived that there was a different crowd there—a seedier one, if you know what I mean—and Robyn had decided to record everyone there, just so he could later figure out what celebrities and such were there. He just happened to record the whole incident with you and the girl.”

“His wasn’t the one that the police used that seemed to corroborate the woman’s story, was it?”

“Oh, heavens, no. His was the one that exonerated you.”

“Why did it take all day if he had proof I was innocent?”

“Well, we didn’t realize the seriousness of the incident. The party was such a dud, we left before the police got there. As I take it, so did you.”

“Yes, and the police tried to say my quick exit was proof I had done something wrong.”

“Oh, my dear, the only thing wrong was whoever put on that dreadful party in the first place!”

Paul chimed in, “But how did you finally know how important that video footage was?”

“Twitter, my dear, twitter. At noon, I was taking a break and checking my twitter, seeing how my ‘#ChevalierLine’ was doing when I saw all the uproar about your arrest.”

Philippe interjected, “I was never arrested, they were just holding me.”

“Semantics, my dear.”

“No, more than semantics, an arrest goes on your record, holding for questioning does not. That’s a pretty important difference.”

“Ok, I yield. You are right. Anyway, when I realized you were at the police station, I contacted Robyn. It seems he had spent all day going through his footage identifying the people in it. As I said he is rather fanatical about it. He grabbed the phone with the footage—he has several phones. I picked him up and brought him to the station.”

“I didn’t get released until early evening, what took so long?”

“The police, my dear. They had to verify that the video was authentic. They took Robyn’s phone—which upset him quite a bit—and performed whatever magic they do to verify that the video was the original unedited version. And then, of course there was all the paperwork they had to do.”

Louis spoke up, “I had contacted my personal lawyer and we drove to Paris as soon as we found out. Did you know Paul followed the police and stayed at the police station all day nagging them for information about you? He was so persistent that I think they gave him the information just to get him off their backs. It was Paul who let me know where you were held and gave information my lawyer needed. Also, the lawyer hired for the agency showed up, too, but we sent her home. She wasn’t needed.”

Philippe looked around the table at these people who had saved the day for him. “You can’t imagine how harrowing it was. Such a stupid simple, incident could have ruined my life. I owe all of you so much for standing by me and helping me. And you, Lorraine, if you and your followers, especially Robyn, had not been there, I’d probably still be in jail—for raping a woman for god’s sake! How satirical is that?”

It was Lorraine who started chuckling first, then Philippe started laughing—more as a release than actual humor at the situation—and the rest of the table followed suit. The food came, more wine was ordered, and the mood turned festive. Paul, sitting next to Philippe, put his head on Philippe’s shoulder and caressed his arm affectionately. Philippe found himself annoyed at Paul. He was such a puppy. He adored Philippe unconditionally and would allow Philippe any use of his body. It was Paul’s lack of self-worth that irritated Philippe. Why couldn’t he step up and be a man? Stand up for himself? Then he felt the guilt at his own lack of consideration for the young man who was so devoted to him.

Then Philippe locked eyes with Lorraine who was smiling that enigmatic smile. This time he felt a connection, a spark. He felt Lorraine understood his frustration with Paul and was saying with his eyes, “You deserve a real man. You deserve me.”

Boldly Philippe spoke, “Lorraine, how am I ever going to repay you for saving my life?”

Lorraine gave him a coy look and Philippe clearly saw his Chevalier in the look. Lorraine answered, “Oh, I’m sure we’ll think of something.” Then came a very subtle wink and slight nod—or was it more of a slight tilt of his head? Whatever it was, it sent a thrill through Philippe’s body.

Paul never noticed, but Louis had. Louis had seen this coming, as inevitable as the rising and setting sun. Louis had had enough Versailles dreams to understand the indelible bond between the two. And by this time, he knew better than to try and come between the two of them. Their love had been written in stone some 360 years ago when they met as teenagers. A spark had been struck. The flame could not be far behind.


	9. Hook, Line, and Sinker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe enlists a new investigator to find out who raped the woman at the party so he can completely clear his own name. Lorraine invites Philippe to House of Lorraine to present some new clothes to him and arranges for an interview for Paul.

To Philippe’s surprise, his release from the police station did not bring an end to the accusation on the public media forums. Many people were saying Philippe had been released because he had paid people off or because of his fame. It was very infuriating. He decided to call Louis to see if there was anything his lawyer could do to remedy the situation.

“Philippe, hello! I’m glad you called—I was going to call you today about your little incident.”

“Yes, that is why I am calling you. There are people out there that still think I am guilty. I was wondering if there was anything your lawyer could do to help remedy that.”

“Actually, it was my lawyer who told me to call you. He has found some interesting things about the incident.”

“Really? What things?”

“First, the police still believe the woman really could have been raped. After she accused you, the police took her to a hospital to do a rape kit. They found that she had bruising and semen around the genital area as well as bruising on her wrists, bite marks on her breasts and other signs that she had been ill-treated. They have DNA samples they can send off to be tested.”

“Really? Well, the DNA samples would clear me because there is no way any of it could be mine. The bruising on one wrist could be from me from when I stopped her from groping me but that is all.”

“The thing is, the police have decided that it was probably from rough consensual sex and are dropping the matter.”

“Oh. Isn’t that good?”

“It is the easiest route to take, but if she was raped by someone else, then that would definitely clear your name. And, I do feel for the poor woman. She didn’t make a good choice to get wasted, but no woman deserves to be raped.”

Philippe had a hard time feeling any sympathy for the woman, but knew Louie was right. “I suppose you are right, but what can we do about it?”

“With your permission, I would like to hire an investigator to check into the matter. If he can find evidence of a rape, we can bring the evidence to the police and they can seek justice for the poor woman.”

“Hmm. That is very generous of you. Do I sense an ulterior motive? Pursuing a case like this that brings a conviction of a rapist could be a feather in a politician’s cap.”

“Perhaps, it could be taken that way. Or it could just be me, as a concerned brother, trying to clear your name.”

“Yes, and if the investigation clears my name I will be grateful. Brother.”

“Good, then I will have the investigator talk to you and Paul, as well as that Lorraine and his people. The investigator’s name is Fabien Marchal.”

Philippe was stunned. “You joke. Fabien Marchal?”

“No, I do not joke. He was highly recommended by my own investigator, Fontain.”

“I guess the name of Fabien Marchal has not come up in any of your dreams?”

“You mean the Versailles ones? No, it has not. Who is he?”

“He was head of your security at Versailles. Logic tells me this is just an uncanny coincidence and that this will be a totally different man, with a name that just happens to be the same as one who lived centuries ago. But this reincarnation stuff defies all logic. And I would place my bet on it being the same man. If so, then this world is stranger than I ever thought. Go ahead and get this investigation started. I want my name cleared for good.”

“You do know people are going to think what they will think. There will always be rumors and innuendo.”

“Just get Marchal investigating. The sooner the truth is known the better for everyone involved—except of course, the rapist. Thank you for helping.”

“Before you hang up, I have a question for you. What are you going to do with Paul when you get back with Lorraine? You know he will be terribly hurt. And hurt people can be dangerous people.”

“Paul? Dangerous? He couldn’t hurt a flea.”

“Oh, not physically dangerous, but, you never know what havoc a spurned lover can do—especially to one’s reputation. You are playing with fire, brother. Just wanted to warn you!”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep it in mind. But, what makes you think I want to get with Lorraine? He has no memory of us. It seems a futile task. One where I play the forlorn lover pining away at what once was. I don’t relish the thought of that.”

“At least your head is on the right path. But it is your heart I worry about. Good day, brother. Marchal should be contacting you soon.”

They hung up and Philippe knew that Louis was right. He didn’t have a good “escape plan” for when he reunited with his Chevalier and no longer needed Paul. He told himself he was a wretched man for using Paul like he was. It was also true that he had some trepidations about reuniting with this modern-day version of his Chevalier. Until Lorraine started having the Versailles dreams, he would never understand fully the love they had. For all he knew, any relationship he developed with Lorraine might not be more than just a dalliance for Lorraine. Lorraine kept the gossip columnists busy keeping up with all his conquests. Philippe wanted to be more than just another notch in Lorraine’s “love” belt. He sighed. It was what it was.

Later that day he was surprised by a call from Lorraine.

“My dear Philippe, I feel so bad that you didn’t get that appointment with me, so I have set aside some time to see you. I’ve been going through my new line of clothing and think I have found something that just shouts you! If you like it, we can do a fitting.”

Philippe was surprised at hearing from Lorraine so soon. In his excitement, he threw all the advice his brother had given him out the window. “Yes, I would like that. I am intrigued to see your vision of my style.”

“Would tomorrow at 3pm work for you?”

“Yes, will it be at the House of Lorraine?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I will see you there! Oh, and you will be contacted by an investigator by the name of Fabien Marchal. It appears that woman the other night really was raped, but the police have decided to drop the matter saying it was probably just rough sex. My brother thinks it is best to find the real rapist, so my name can be cleared fully. There is still a lot of innuendo about me despite the police clearing me.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. I’ll be glad to help however I can. Maybe Robyn’s recordings might give a clue. I’ll give him a heads up. Until tomorrow, then!”

Philippe was disappointed that Lorraine did not pick up on the name Fabien Marchal. If he had any memories of Versailles, the name should have been familiar to him since it was Fabien who had arrested him in Paris during that unfortunate failed conspiracy to unseat his brother.

It was then that Paul came up behind him and put his arms around his waist. “Anything exciting going on?”

Philippe turned around to face Paul. “Looks like that woman at the party really was raped. My brother is hiring an investigator to explore the situation. The investigator will be contacting us about it.” Phillipe decided not to mention his meeting with Lorraine tomorrow.

“Well, I just got a call from the Bardeaux Modeling Agency! They have an opening for a runway show model and want to interview me tomorrow!” Paul was very excited.

“That is wonderful! When is it?”

“At 2pm tomorrow afternoon. Your friend, Lorraine, recommended me. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.”

And there it was. Lorraine was as scheming and manipulative as ever. Philippe didn’t think for one minute that Lorraine had scheduled that interview because of any real interest in Paul’s career. No, he was just conveniently getting Paul out of the way. But Philippe didn’t have the heart to tell Paul the truth—and he hated himself for it. “I’ll reserve a car for you. Have you decided what to wear?”

“They said to wear just a simple shirt and jeans. They’ll have the clothes they want me to model for them. I’m excited but so nervous.”

Philippe took Paul’s face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. “You will do just fine. Just remember to relax and be yourself. Don’t overdo it. You have a natural grace and beauty—let that shine!”

“My dear Philippe! You are too kind to me. How am I ever going to repay you for all that you have done for me?”

Philippe felt so guilty, but answered, “Just take advantage of the things that come your way. Now I must do some work on my album. I’ve got some ideas for several songs.”

“I know, you want me to let you work in peace. I’ll go to my room and work on my walk.”

“Thank you. I think we should go out to eat tonight to celebrate!”

With that, Philippe went into one of the now empty bedrooms he had set up as his “work” room. Right now, his only “tools” were a portable keyboard he’d put on a stand, a chair, a writing pad and some pens and pencils. He worked the rest of the day, then he and Paul cleaned up and went out to eat. He ordered them a bottle of good champagne. During the dinner, Paul kept running his foot up Philippe’s leg and got giggly after a few glasses of champagne. On the way home, in the car, Paul thanked Philippe by unzipping his pants and bringing him to release with his mouth. Philippe gave the driver an extra-large bonus.

The next morning, Philippe received a call from Marchal asking if he could come by around ten to ask him and Paul some questions. Promptly at ten, the door buzzer went off. He was greeted by the familiar face of the Fabien Marchal he knew from his Versailles dreams. However, Marchal never gave a clue if he recognized Philippe. Stone-faced as usual, he had each man describe the events as they had experienced them, then asked them all the questions the police had asked Philippe and more. Philippe was feeling somewhat defensive because it was sounding to him like Marchal might be thinking he wasn’t telling the truth. He held his tongue because he knew it was best not to irritate Marchal. They finished with just enough time left for Paul to get ready for his two o’clock meeting.

After Paul left, Philippe showered and decided to wear a decent pair of jeans and a simple collared shirt. The nicest clothes he had were from Viardot and it didn’t seem right to wear them to a meeting with Lorraine. He had no idea what to expect from this meeting with Lorraine. Finally, he was in the car Lorraine had sent to pick him up. Lorraine had thoughtfully provided some champagne for Philippe to drink on the way over. Philippe downed the champagne to calm his nerves. It didn’t work. When he arrived at the House of Lorraine, he was still extremely nervous but now he was a little giddy, too. It was not a good combination for him.

Philippe was surprised that there was a doorman at the entrance to the House of Lorraine. He walked into splendor he had not seen since Versailles. There was much glass, crystal, mirrors, and gold with discreet touches of purple. Philippe was impressed. He was greeted by a woman who led him to a private room. She offered him champagne and delicate pastries and told him Lorraine would be with him shortly.

Against his better judgement, he downed another glass of champagne. It was so like Lorraine to leave him waiting. He had a thought to just get up and walk out—but before he could act on it, Lorraine made his entrance.

“So sorry to keep you waiting! My assistant had a problem she could not solve herself. Enough of my problems, how are you doing today? You look, well, relaxed.” Lorraine gave him that enigmatic smile of his.

Philippe thought, “Why don’t you just come out and say it. I look a little drunk!” But he didn’t. Instead he did say, “I am enjoying your hospitality.”

“Good. Let’s get down to business.” Lorraine snapped his fingers and an assistant rolled in a rack with some clothes on it. “Now, I wasn’t sure what colors you liked so I have several options. Myself, I am fond of the dark blues.” He turned and pulled out a deep indigo blue jacket and held it up to Philippe’s chest. “The color brings out the color of your eyes so well.” And Lorraine’s other hand so lightly traced the line of Philippe’s face from his eyes to his chin. Philippe could not find a word to say.

Lorraine hung the jacket on the end of the rack. He turned to Philippe and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Here, let’s get this off, so you can try on the things I have for you.”

Phillipe just stood there and let Lorraine remove his shirt. He felt Lorraine’s hand linger on his back. He fought to control the feelings that were welling up in him. Lorraine had taken a shirt off the rack and was now putting it on Philippe. Lorraine leaned in close to lift Philippe’s hair free of the shirt and Philippe could not hold back. He made his move to kiss Lorraine and Lorraine did not resist. But neither did he give in totally to the kiss. He pulled back a little after the kiss and ran his fingers over Philippe’s lips. “I should also mention what lovely lips you have, my dear Philippe. In fact, you are a totally delicious specimen of a man, with just the right touch of raw edge to you.”

Philippe leaned in for another kiss, but Lorraine pulled back, “No, we need to get back to business” and Lorraine buttoned up the shirt. It had a slim fit with slightly dropped shoulders and slightly fuller sleeves than the average dress shirt. The material was a soft matte gray silk that felt wonderful against Philippe’s skin.

“Yes, it will need some taking in here, and here, but overall it is a great fit! Now for the pants.” And before Philippe could react Lorraine had unbuttoned the top of his jeans and slid the zipper down. Philippe reacted by grabbing Lorraine’s hand. “What kind of game are you playing Lorraine?”

Lorraine gave him that impishly innocent look, “Game? I am playing no game with you. I am merely doing my duty as your designer.” Lorraine’s eyes, however, spoke differently. Lorraine disengaged his hand from Philippe’s and stepped back. “If you prefer to undress yourself, then please do so. I was merely helping.” Lorraine just stood there waiting for Philippe.

Philippe stared back at Lorraine and said, “You could turn and give me some privacy.”

“Privacy? Oh, how modest we are today. I imagine you aren’t so modest around your little friend, Paul. By the way, I hope he was excited about his interview this afternoon!” Lorraine turned to give Philippe some privacy.

“Yes, he was very excited. It was very nice of you to think of him. It made it easier for me to make this appointment with him off to his own interview. Which of these pants do you want me to put on?”

“The dark navy ones. Let me know if they are too tight. They may have to be adjusted. I didn’t have your measurements, so I just guessed.”

Philippe took the pants off the rack and put them on. “You can turn around now.”

Lorraine turned with a flourish. “Oh, they do look good on you!” He walked up to Philippe and grabbed the waist, “But they need to be taken up here.” He reached around to the back seam and laid his hand on Phillip’s butt. “This could use some adjustment. You are thinner than I thought. Are you eating properly?”

“I don’t see how that is any business of yours.”

“You are right, it isn’t any of my business. I just think you look a little too thin. I’ll be right back. I’m going to get the seamstress, so she can take note of the adjustments. I hope you won’t mind her putting her hands on you—it would be hard for her to do her job without doing so. Once she has made the notes then she will need to take complete measurements for our records. Oh, but I am forgetting myself. Do you want to purchase this shirt and pants? I just assumed you would. Sorry.”

“Yes, I like them very much. I like that jacket, too. You have done a good job of deciphering my style. I am not sure myself what that is until I see it.”

“Good, I will be back after the seamstress is done.” Lorraine turned and deliberately sashayed away. Philippe watched him leave with yearning building up in him. Lorraine drove him to distraction. He longed for his Chevalier who knew the love they had and didn’t play all the games. But the Chevalier had also vexed him many times, too. His thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of the seamstress. She introduced herself and talked nonstop while she was taking measurements.

Philippe muttered an answer here and there. His thoughts were with what had just happened with Lorraine.  He dissected every move they had made and chastised himself for his own actions. He should have done this, or he should not have done that. Finally, the seamstress was done and told him to wait, Lorraine would be back to finish their transaction. More champagne was brought, and he took a glass.

Lorraine didn’t keep him waiting long and made his entrance. “Okay, here is the ticket for the purchase.  I hope the price is amenable, I gave you a special discount. We’ll make the adjustments and send them to you in three days or less.” He handed the ticket to Philippe to check over.

“This is a very good price! Thank you. I am very pleased. It has been an interesting afternoon.” Philippe signed the ticket then handed it back to Lorraine.

To his surprise, Lorraine put his hand over the ticket and grabbed Philippe’s hand then looked at Philippe. “I know this is rather sudden, but would you like to dine with me tonight? I’ve got a reservation at a small out of the way place and don’t want to eat alone. It’s a wonderful place and they have excellent food.”

Philippe wasn’t sure what to answer. Yes, he wanted to, but no he didn’t. Mostly he was worried about what he would tell Paul. Lorraine seemed to have read his mind, “Oh, and by the way, your friend, Paul, has been invited to dinner with some of his new model friends. My friend at the Bardeaux called to tell me they loved Paul and have hired him.”

Of course, Lorraine was manipulating them. He knew he should say no just to let Lorraine know he couldn’t be so easily manipulated. But he found himself saying, “Yes,” and agreeing to a 7pm pickup time.

He was hooked, and Lorraine was reeling him in. It wouldn’t matter how much he fought and resisted. Lorraine had him.


	10. A Night to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Lorraine's manipulations, Paul has been hired by the Bardeaux Agency and is attending a party with his new co-workers. When he finally reaches Philippe to tell him where he is, Philippe lies to Paul saying he has a record exec meeting that will probably last very late and encourages Paul to crash where he is at. In reality, Lorraine has invited him to a dinner that turns into an overnight at Lorraine's place.

On the way home from the House of Lorraine, Philippe remembered he had turned his phone off and discovered ten messages from Paul. After his interview, Paul had stopped at the flat to tell Philippe his good news and to ask him if he wanted to go to the party with him. He had tried calling Philippe and when he didn’t get an answer he started getting worried. Now Philippe wished he had told Paul some lie about going to a record exec meeting or something. He called Paul who was very relieved to hear his voice. Philippe could hear loud music in the background.

Philippe explained, “Sorry, the record execs called me into a meeting. They are not happy with me at the slow progress of my song writing. I knew you were in your interview and didn’t want to disturb you. I forgot I turned off my phone until just now.” He knew he was going to hell with all these lies.

“I am just glad you are ok. I called to tell you the agency hired me to do some runway shows.”

“Congratulations! I knew you could do it!”

“I’m with some of the other new-hires and we’re celebrating. I was going to invite you. You can still come if you want. I can give you the address.”

“I’m afraid I can’t come. The record execs have set up a meeting with me to work with some of the others I’ll be playing with. It may be very early in the morning before we are done. You have a good time at your celebration. My only demand is that you do not get into a car with a drunk driver. I think it may be too late to order you a car, so you can just crash where you are if you need to.”

“Philippe, you are always so kind to worry about me. I think I will probably be crashing here. We’re already pretty drunk.”

“I just hope it is alcohol you are getting high on.”

“I made a promise to you. I intend to keep it.”

“Good. Call me tomorrow and I will send a car to pick you up. I need to go now. I don’t have a lot of time before they come for me.”

“Bye, Philippe. You mean the world to me.”

“And you to me, Paul.” As Philippe said the words he felt like the lowest scum on the earth. He had no delusions how this dinner with Lorraine would end up. It was wrong to lie to Paul, but he did it and hated himself for it.

A while later, a freshly showered and newly dressed Philippe was getting into the car with Lorraine.

“You look nice, tonight. Simple but tasteful,” Lorraine complimented him.

“It’s the best I can do with the drab wardrobe I have right now. But I am sure with your help I can change that.”

“Yes, indeed, we will have heads turning for you.” Lorraine poured champagne into two glasses. “Let us toast to our collaboration!”

Philippe was surprised that Lorraine kept the conversation light-hearted and totally un-romantic. Maybe he had misread his intentions. The restaurant was a family-owned business and everyone in the restaurant knew Lorraine and were very attentive to them. The food was simple but very good. Lorraine was an excellent conversationalist and they talked about many worldly things and very few personal things. Philippe was gaining a great respect for Lorraine’s knowledge. The wine they drank made Philippe remember comfortable conversations with his Chevalier. Philippe desperately wanted to have more personal contact with Lorraine. Hold his hand, touch his face—anything, but Lorraine deftly and politely avoided his attempts. When it came time to leave, Lorraine offered his arm and they walked out arm in arm. That made Philippe somewhat happy.

However, outside the restaurant, there was a small crowd of photographers waiting to take photos and shouting questions. Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “Just smile and say nothing, dear. It is better that way. Our publicists can release any statements we want to make tomorrow.”

They made it to the car and Lorraine let Philippe climb in first. Then he climbed in and scooted over as close to Philippe as he could get. He reached his hand to stroke Philippe’s face and said, “My dear, Philippe, you have been so patient all night. I can feel your desire for me, but I can’t but wonder how real it is. How much is a romantic notion that since our ancestors were great lovers we should be, too? I wonder, is your passion real and based on the moment?”

Philippe knew in his heart this man was his Chevalier, but how could he explain that? How could he help him remember his life before this one? He couldn’t as far as he knew. All he could do is let him know the feelings he had at this moment. And words wouldn’t do it. He leaned over, put his hand behind Lorraine’s head and put his lips on Lorraine’s mouth. The kiss started out slow and tentative but grew in intensity and hunger. Lorraine tried to pull away, but Philippe wouldn’t let him. Then he felt Lorraine giving in and reciprocating. He pushed Lorraine down onto the seat and started to climb on top of him, but Lorraine pushed back and said, “No, not in the car. Not like this. Come home with me and we can do it the right way.

Philippe relented and helped Lorraine sit back up. He kissed him gently and said, “One day you will understand.”

The car was going down a quiet residential area and pulled up to a charming three-story house that looked to have been built in the early 1900’s. The car pulled into a garage in the back and they entered the house from the garage. The house had been totally updated on the inside and rivaled any of the new modern apartments that were being built. The living room had beautiful wood floors and was open and airy. Large windows looked out into a walled-in garden area.  Sliding glass doors allowed access to a patio area in that garden. Colorful sleek-lined couches and chairs created a seating area around a circular glassed in fireplace. The open kitchen area was defined by a lovely wood curved bar area topped with an exquisite white, red and gray marbled top. Lighting over the bar area was provided by four fixtures that featured a series of oblong crystals hung from round stainless-steel lights that were attached to the ceiling with thin stainless rods, marrying a feel for the past with modern flair. Lorraine’s house was so much more modern than the showrooms of the House of Lorraine.

After Lorraine gave him a minute or two to take in the living room he asked, “Well, what do you think?”

Philippe answered, “I think you have impeccable taste. It is quite modern but cozy at the same time. I’m afraid my flat is a bit drab and ordinary in comparison.”

“Shall I open a bottle of wine or fix you a drink? I think I am in the mood for wine, myself.”

“Please, open a bottle of wine—that is the most interesting fireplace!”

“Wait until you see it going, it is mesmerizing. Let me open the wine, then we can watch the fireplace for a while.”

Lorraine opened a bottle of wine, got two glasses and set them on a glass coffee table in front of one of the couches by the fireplace. Then he went to a hidden control board and turned down the lights and activated the gas fireplace. He also turned on some soft music.

He walked over to where Philippe was standing looking at the fireplace, took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him. “Now, let the seduction begin,” he whispered. Lorraine drew Philippe down to the couch. Their next kiss was intense and full of hunger for each other. His hands reached under Philippe’s shirt and pulled it off him. Lorraine’s mouth went to Philippe’s neck and kissed him gently just below the ear where the jaw begins, then worked its way down to his chest. Philippe’s hands were busy unbuttoning Lorraine’s shirt.

By now Philippe was laying on the couch with Lorraine straddling him. Lorraine’s mouth returned to Philippe’s lips and they kissed again. Philippe helped Lorraine remove his shirt and it was now Philippe’s turn to explore Lorraine’s neck and chest with his mouth. Bare chest lay on bare chest as Lorraine lay on top of Philippe and they kissed again. Philippe’s hands caressed Lorraine’s back working their way down to his waist. Now Philippe was unbuttoning Lorraine’s pants and unzipping them. Lorraine stood up to let Philippe remove his pants then he unbuttoned and unzipped Philippe’s pants and pulled them off. Lorraine lay again on top of Philippe.

The feel of Lorraine’s bare skin against his sent a fire raging through Philippe’s body. They kissed, arms entwined around each other, hands groping and exploring. Philippe knew every contour of Lorraine’s body. He could only hope Lorraine’s caresses on his body might bring back forgotten memories. Lorraine’s mouth sucked Philippe’s neck, moved to Philippe’s chest then kissed his belly. Lorraine could feel Philippe’s member harden and press against his chest. He pressed himself against Philippe in a slow grinding motion, causing Philippe to moan and rake his fingertips across Lorraine’s back. Lorraine’s mouth followed the line of hair down to Philippe’s hard cock. His hands gently stroked it, then guided it into his mouth. Philippe groaned. As Lorraine sucked and stroked Philippe’s cock, Philippe writhed and moaned in response. Philippe’s moans got louder until he finally cried out, “Oh, god!” and released his seed into Lorraine’s mouth. After a few last strokes, Lorraine climbed back up Philippe’s body and laid his head on his chest to listen to the fast beating of Philippe’s heart. Philippe ran his fingers slowly through Lorraine’s hair then kissed the top of his head lightly.

When Philippe’s heart had slowed, Philippe pulled Lorraine up to kiss him, softly and gently. Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Now it is your turn. Get up.”

Lorraine sat up, then disengaged himself from Philippe and stood up. Philippe stood up and wrapped his arms around Lorraine and kissed him deeply. It was Philippe’s turn to push Lorraine gently onto the couch. Philippe climbed on top of Lorraine, kissing and sucking on his neck while his hands groped their way down to the small of his back, then groping and caressing Lorraine’s buttocks, moving to the inside of Lorraine’s thighs. Lorraine was writhing to the touch. Lorraine moaned, “For god’s sake, get to it.”

“Beg for it,” was Philippe’s response as his hands teased him more running up and down his thighs.

“I’m begging, damn it, I’m begging.”

Philippe’s hands moved up from Lorraine’s thighs and he began twirling his fingertips in the hair around Lorraine’s hard cock which evoked an “Oh god, please,” from Lorraine.

Philippe responded by taking Lorraine’s cock in his mouth. Lorraine answered with a deeply moaned, “Yes,” as he writhed in response to Philippe’s actions.  Philippe used his mouth and hands to bring Lorraine to an intense release. Philippe moved up and settled on top of Lorraine. They wrapped their arms around each other. Philippe felt more content than he had felt in a very long time. Laying there feeling Lorraine’s heart beat and feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest was pure happiness. There was nowhere else he wanted to be. His hand caressed Lorraine’s face. “That was fun, we should do that again.”

“Let’s wait a bit on that shall we? Here let me sit up, my leg is falling asleep. We haven’t even touched the wine and I’m thirsty.”

Philippe gave Lorraine a soft kiss then stood up, so Lorraine could sit up. Philippe sat back down next to Lorraine. They sat drinking wine and staring into the fire. The jets on the fireplace subtly changed the shape and height of the flames—the flames seemed to writhe and dance to the music. It was a unique fireplace, indeed. They sat drinking their wine, exchanging occasional soft kisses and caresses. When the bottle was empty Lorraine kissed Philippe urgently. “I think it is time to retire to the bedroom and start over again. This time I want you to fuck me.”

Philippe whispered, “I shall make you beg for it.”

Before the night was over they both had begged for it.


	11. Plots and Mornings After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next day, photos of Philippe and Lorraine hit the tabloids. Lorraine tells Philippe that the party Paul was at turned into an orgy of sex and drugs. Fabien uncovers a blackmail plot against Lorraine and solves the rape of the woman Philippe encountered. Fabien also has a special reveal for Philippe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with the gang-rape of a woman and a plot to use the sexual exploitation of an underage boy in a blackmail attempt. Neither is described in detail and is only referred to indirectly.

Philippe woke the next morning to a soft kiss. He opened his eyes to see Lorraine standing over him fully dressed.

“Good morning, Philippe. Sorry to wake you but I wanted to say goodbye. I have a business to run, but you can stay in bed as long as you like. My driver will come back and be at your disposal whenever you are ready. Thank you for a wonderfully delicious evening! I hope we can do it again sometime.”

Still groggy and a little hungover from the wine, Philippe said, “Wait! I should go, too. Give me a few minutes to piss and dress and your driver can drop me off after you.”

“I suppose I can wait a few more minutes. There is a brush and comb in the top left drawer of the vanity and new toothbrushes in the second drawer beneath. Your clothes are on the chair over there.”

Philippe forced himself out of bed, grabbed his clothes and stumbled into the bathroom, all under the watchful eye of Lorraine.

Just as Philippe was about to enter the bathroom Lorraine replied, “I do so love that beautiful ass of yours! Even if it is a bit skinny.”

As Philippe dressed, he was feeling somewhat confused by Lorraine. He had hoped for an entirely different morning with him—one that involved some morning love-making. But he knew Lorraine was right. He did have a business to run while Philippe had a more relaxed lifestyle. Then his thoughts turned to Paul. Most likely Paul would not be up and around until later, but it would be a good thing for him to be home anyway just in case.

When Philippe opened the drawers, he realized Lorraine was well-prepared for overnight guests. Along with an assortment of new, unopened packages containing toothbrushes and samples of toothpaste, there were other sample-sized toiletries. It was obvious Lorraine entertained many overnight guests, but then Philippe did know his reputation.

On the way to the car, Lorraine told him, “I had a call from my PR agent and I’m afraid the tabloid headlines are plastered with our photos and all kinds of speculation as to our relationship. My agent is issuing a statement that we met over dinner to discuss our up and coming collaborations. That will satisfy some, but you know how the media is. Oh, and another thing she told me, that little party your friend, Paul, went to turned into quite an orgy of sex and drugs. Those boys are getting along quite well.”

The news upset Philippe, but he tried to reply as calmly as he could muster, “Paul is free to do as he pleases. It is good for him to have friends other than myself. We both decided that we needed to expand our social activities.” Lorraine just nodded in reply, but his eyes said he didn’t believe Philippe at all.

They got into the car and were soon pulling out of the garage. Neither noticed the car parked a few houses down. Inside was a photographer with a telephoto lens about to take a picture that would ruin Philippe’s day.

In the car Lorraine turned to Philippe and said, “Seriously, I did enjoy our evening together.  You are a lot more than I expected.” He leaned over and gave Philippe a long, passionate kiss. “I really do wish I didn’t have to rush off like this.”

The photographer in the car was already trying to put a price on the photographs he was taking and counting his money.

A little later, Philippe came home to an empty flat. There had been no calls from Paul, but that was good. He was wondering how he should handle the information Lorraine had given him about Paul. It would be a good excuse to separate himself from Paul. But then he couldn’t be sure Paul had taken any drugs or had sex with anyone just because the others did. Paul knew the dangers of that type of behavior and how it opened both he and Philippe up to the danger of diseases. Besides, it would be so hypocritical of him, after spending the night with Lorraine. He would have to have a conversation with Paul about this. So much would depend on what Paul said.

Philippe wondered if Lorraine had not planned this all along. If that were true, however, it might mean Lorraine wanted Philippe all to himself. While Philippe was excited at that thought, he didn’t like that it meant Lorraine was so manipulative. The Chevalier had been manipulative, but if Lorraine had arranged all of this, then he was infinitely worse in this life than his Chevalier had ever been and that was worrisome. Of course, all of this was just mere speculation on his part. He pushed all that out of his mind and went into his work room to do some song writing.

It wasn’t until about one in the afternoon before Paul called and asked Philippe to call him a car. Paul sounded very hung over and out of it. When Paul got home a bit later, he looked terrible.

“Looks like you had a pretty wild night.”

Paul looked at him sheepishly and said, “Can we talk about this later? We were up until this morning and I wanted to come home and sleep in my own bed. The party was a lot wilder than I expected. There are some things we will need to talk about once I have had some decent sleep.’

Paul walked over and gave Philippe a soft kiss. “I did not forget my promises to you, but there are things we need to discuss. I hope your night went well.” Paul turned and walked into the bedroom. Philippe decided it was best to let him have his sleep. He had no idea what it was they needed to talk about and he began to worry that Paul might have heard about the tabloid headlines regarding him and Lorraine. News got around too damned fast in this world.

Philippe went back to his work but was interrupted by another call. This one was from Marchal. He wanted to meet with Philippe as soon as possible. He had some news he didn’t want to talk to him about over the phone. It turned out Marchal was nearby and would be there in ten minutes.

Soon Marchal and Philippe were talking.

“It turns out the men who raped that woman were crew members for the band, the Silver Tongues. They drugged her drink and lured her into a private room and took turns with her.”

“Wow, I saw members of the group at the party. Now I feel very bad for that woman. Was she even drunk when she encountered me?”

“No, she was totally under the influence of the drugs they gave her. But there is much more. You’re encounter with that woman was very fortuitous and the person who owes you a big thank you is your Chevalier.”

“My Chevalier? I don’t understand.”

“In my inquiries into your matter, I uncovered a bigger crime. The owner of that establishment has been setting rich and famous people up and then blackmailing them. His next target was your Chevalier. I discovered a network of hidden cameras throughout the establishment. The owner was always on the watch for embarrassing circumstances he could exploit, but he wasn’t satisfied waiting on chance. For the past few years he has been setting people up. Lorraine was his next target.”

“Surely some would have refused to be blackmailed.”

“He chose mostly rich people who found it easier to pay than face public scrutiny. As you have found out, once your name gets out there, it is hard to shake it even when you are innocent.”

“Yes, I know that well. But how was he going to get to Lorraine?”

“The plan was to entice him with an underage boy.”

“Lorraine has plenty of men to choose from, he doesn’t need underage boys. Just because we have a taste for slightly younger men doesn’t mean we are pedophiles. Damn I am so tired of that misconception.”

“I never said that. The owner had hired a sixteen-year-old boy who happens to look somewhat older than he is—and they enhanced his looks to make him look older. Remember, they do claim to have good security and ensure everyone there is the age of consent. That is what attracts a lot of people to it. They offered the boy varying amounts of money--$500 for a kiss with Lorraine, $1000 for a compromising embrace and $5000 for a sexual act with him. As I said they have an extensive network of hidden cameras.”

“Well, the most the kid could make would be $1000 and I find that doubtful.”

Marchal gave Philippe one of his “You know better than that looks.” Philippe decided it was useless arguing with Marchal. “They really couldn’t get much out of Lorraine for a kiss or a hug, could they?”

“Oh, the plan was more sinister than that. Once they had some sort of recorded proof of the two of them having some contact, they were going to put something in Lorraine’s drink. He would wake up in a room in bed next to a badly beaten young man, both naked. I think the plan was even worse, to kill the boy, but I could get no one to admit to that. I don’t have the tools or authority I used to have.”

With that Philippe gave Marchal a sharp look. “What do you mean by ‘used to have’? And why are you referring to Lorraine as ‘my Chevalier’?”

“I would think Philippe duc d’Orleans, brother of Louis XIV, would understand exactly what I meant by that.”

Philippe just stared at Marchal, not sure whether to say the words he wanted to ask. Was Marchal mocking his public claims or did he know something? Marchal calmly met Philippe’s stare. Finally, Philippe found the courage to ask, “So you believe my claim to be the real Philippe?”

“As Fabien Marchal, head of security for Louis XIV, why would I doubt you? I believe we tread a similar path.”


	12. Paying for the Sins of Last Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabien and Philippe catch up on each other's current lives and bond. Paul comes home after a wild night with the other models and confesses to Philippe he was caught up in a drug-fueled orgy after someone slipped drugs into his drink, causing him to break his promises to Philippe. Philippe is mad, but also feels guilty for not doing more to help Paul because he was more concerned with hiding his overnight with Lorraine from Paul. Paul learns about Philippe's overnight with Lorraine. A fight ensues and Paul decides to pack and leave for good. Philippe fears that Lorraine may have been behind everything and worries that modern-day Lorraine is much more manipulative and conniving than his Chevalier had ever been.

Philippe was blown away by Marchal’s statement. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure where to start, so he asked the simplest of them. “You have the dreams, too?”

“Yes, for quite a while, now. I do not understand what is going on here, but it defies logic. I am guessing your brother, the Mayor of Rouen, is the past king?”

“Yes. Do you know our current history? How our mother gave me up for adoption and we only recently just reunited?”

“No, I was not aware of that.”

“Yes, it was a shock to me and the truth is I wasn’t that excited about the reunion. My childhood was difficult since I wound up in many foster homes. But I have landed on my feet—not without difficulties, but it is what it is. Louis is only recently aware of who he is. How have things been for you?”

“I have had a decent life. Normal childhood. Always thought I wanted to be a detective. I was a police officer for a while. That ended badly. Was falsely accused of assault and battery by a shyster lawyer to get his scum client off. I turned to private investigation. That’s had its ups and downs. Too many divorce cases, but they pay the bills.”

“And the dreams?”                                             

“I tried to deny them for a long time. As I said they defied logic and I am a believer in logic. When you came out and professed to be the real Philippe duc d’Orleans, it made me reevaluate my own circumstances. It was easy, however, to ignore your claims as just a publicity stunt or delusions brought about by too much drug use. Sorry.”

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. I did go down a dark path with the drugs and have no one to blame but myself.”

“Maybe that whole industry tends to push people down that dark path. You are clean, now?”

“Yes. And trying to dig myself out of self-imposed exile.”

“Good. Isolation is not good for anyone. As for me, I decided it didn’t matter about the dreams. I could not see how who I had once been could have any real bearing on who I was now. Versailles as we knew it no longer exists.”

“Very true. But it is interesting to see so many faces from the past. It is still quite uncanny to me.”

“And Lorraine? You two are back together? I imagine he doesn’t much like me.”

“Actually, he seems unaware of who he was—or is. He sees the two of us as descendants of those two historical lovers.”

“But you two are together, now?”

Philippe sighed and struggled to explain it. “I tried to get him interested in me. That worked, to an extent. We had a wonderful night together, but we are not together in the sense you mean. We are to collaborate in business. He wants me to create some music for his fashion shows and in exchange, he will design stage clothes for me.”

“At least you have that. It is a start.”

“But you don’t know what torture it is to have this deep love for him and not have that reciprocated. I am just one of his many dalliances.”

“May I confess something to you?”

Philippe was shocked by the question. It seemed totally out of character for the Marchal he knew, but then these were different times. “Yes, I’d like to hear anything you want to say.”

“Do you remember that female doctor, Claudine?”

“Yes, she saved my brother’s life but then couldn’t save his child from the pox. Louis dismissed her after that.”

“Yes, well she and I worked together on rooting out the poisons and we grew close. I was in love with her. But someone killed her because she got too close to the truth of the poisons.”

“Oh, I guess I have either forgotten that, or didn’t know about it, or dream about it. Whatever. I am sorry.”

“I can’t help but search the crowds for her face. I know it is unreasonable, but I do it.” Marchal pushed away the emotion.

Philippe decided it would be good to change the subject, “What are you going to do with the information you have discovered in my case?”

“I will present it to the police. I still have friends on the force. I can turn it over to them and they can take it from there.”

“But you should not do that! You have done all the work, take the credit! Besides, I don’t think Louis would like you to do that. Have you talked to him about it?”

“No, not yet. I was going to Rouen to present it to him in person. As I said, I don’t like to talk of important things over the phone.”

“Louis wants you to solve this, and he wants to use it to advance his political career.”

“I thought he wanted to clear your name.”

“Yes, that was his first reason.”

“I see. He wants to be more than mayor I take it.” Philippe could see understanding light up Marchal’s face.

“Yes, much more. There is still a big part of the king in him even though he is just starting to discover his past.”

“Did he know who I was when he hired me?”

“No, his personal investigator, Fontain, recommended you to him.”

“Yes, I have known Fontain for quite a while.” Marchal was quiet for a moment then said, “There are many twists and turns to this life. I have always believed there is a reason for the things that happen but fail to understand what is going on with all of this. In the meantime, I would appreciate it if you would call me Fabien. I think we have known each other long enough to be on a first name basis,” and Fabien laughed. Philippe joined him in laughter, and they embraced as friends.

“By the way,” Fabien said,” I apologize for any prejudice I have shown you in the past. The world has come a long way in accepting people for who they are since Versailles. I no longer hold those prejudices.”

“Thank you. We have come a long way, but still have a long way to go.”

“Now, I must be off for Rouen. I told your brother I would be there this evening.”

“I wonder if he will recognize your face? He may have seen you in a dream and not have realized who you were. It could be interesting. Whatever happens, have a safe trip and a good evening. Thank you for your work. You have done an excellent job. I hope we keep in touch.”

“Yes, we will. I am sure we still have work together on this case and I wouldn’t mind a lunch or dinner here and there with you.”

“Good. And don’t stop searching those crowds.”

“I won’t.” Then Philippe saw Fabien to the door.

Philippe turned around to see a haggard Paul emerging from his room.

“I heard you talking to someone and I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“The dead has awakened!” Philippe gave Paul one of his half-smiles. “Feeling any better?”

“Not really.” Paul stumbled into the kitchen and got himself some water.

“Are you ready to talk to me or do you need time to wake up?”

Paul plopped down heavily on one of the counter stools and put his head into his hands. “Now I remember why I don’t drink this much anymore. It hurts too much the next day.”

“Is it only drink that has you feeling so bad?” Philippe got his answer when he saw Paul’s expression.

“No, it is not. Someone slipped some drugs into my drink. One of the guys told me later. When we were in bed together—after we had sex.”

Philippe had been ready to shout in rage but the dejected look on Paul’s face stopped him. Instead he said simply, “Explain, please.”

“How can I? I swear to you that I did not _want_ to take any drugs. Yes, people were taking all kinds of drugs around me, but I was keeping the promise I made to you. I wasn’t even drinking that much because I planned on coming home to you.”

“You sounded pretty drunk on the phone to me. And you admitted you were.”

“It was the drugs, but I didn’t know it at the time. Everyone was teasing me and calling me a lightweight, but I was sticking to my guns. I told them I had someone wonderful waiting for me at home and didn’t want to disappoint him—you.”

Philippe was trying to discern if Paul was lying or not. He didn’t seem to be. “Go on.”

“After I talked to you, I started to feel light-headed, then things got blurry. I have vague memories that I would just as soon forget.”

“And they are?”

“Me, having sex with other men.”

“As in plural partners?” Philippe was having a hard time controlling his rising anger.

“Yes.”

“What kind of sex and did you use protection?”

Paul involuntarily laughed at that question. “Sorry, it is not funny, but it is a stupid question. Of course, no one was using protection. It was a drug-fueled orgy. And it was every kind of sex a man can have with a man.”

“And you participated?”

“Yes. I had no control.”

“I hope you got off and enjoyed yourself because it is going to cost you.”

“I did not enjoy it. It was like I was out of my body looking down and watching myself destroying my life. I did not feel anything. Then I blanked out and later found myself in bed with that other guy. I was face down and he was on top of me having his way with me and I did feel that—it hurt, he was not being gentle. When he was done, he rolled off me. When he realized I was awake and crying, that is when he told me about the drugs. He thought it was funny. I guess they got what they wanted.” Paul stopped for a moment then asked, “How long do I have until you want me out?”

Philippe couldn’t shake the feeling that Lorraine had something to do with this. Still, Paul could have left—could have called him. Then he remembered, Paul did call him. And he had lied to Paul about his own plans with Lorraine. Philippe realized he had been more concerned with meeting Lorraine than he had been about the situation Paul was in. And if Lorraine had anything to do with this, the blame then fell squarely on Philippe.

Paul was looking at Philippe with dread and Philippe had no idea what he was going to say. Finally, he decided he had to say something. Paul was in real pain. “I just don’t know what I want to do. I feel some responsibility for this. I should have done everything in my power to call you a car, a taxi, an uber—something—to get you out of that situation. But I thought you were having fun and I was preoccupied with the record exec stuff.”

“It is not your fault at all.  I should be better able to take care of myself.”

“Okay. Let’s take this one problem at a time. You need to go to the doctor. Tomorrow. For a complete work up. I will pay for it and any prescriptions he gives you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“I have always paid for your medical before and I will do it for you now.  Second, there will be no sex between us. If I decide you are going to stay, then that will be until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health.”

“Not even with a condom?”

“I don’t even want you in my bed right now.”

“Oh, ok. I understand. I promise I will not socialize with these people again.”

“No, you can’t say that. You may have to continue working with these people to further your career unless we can figure out somewhere else you can work.”

“But they hate me, otherwise why would they do this to me?”

“It could be part of a hazing type of thing. You know, haze the new guy.”

“No, they are all new, too.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I need more information on what happened. For now, I want you to put new sheets on my bed and move to one of the other rooms. I have work to do.”

With that Paul knew he had been dismissed. He was relieved that Philippe had not kicked him out. He would do any penance to get back in good with Philippe. At least that door was still open. However, Paul was now worried about how last night might affect his health. He hoped he had not picked up any diseases. He went into the room he and Philippe shared and changed the sheets and bedding as Philippe had requested. Then he chose the room next door to Philippe’s for his new room and laid down to rest. His head was really throbbing now, and he felt queasy.

Philippe was in his work room struggling with some lyrics when he looked up and saw Paul in the doorway.

“Yes. What is it?”

“You said last night you were with the record execs, right?”

Philippe felt alarm. “Yes, why?”

Paul walked over and showed Philippe his phone. Someone had sent him a picture of today’s tabloid with the picture of him and Lorraine getting into a car.

Philippe had already decided how he was going to handle this if it came up. “So?”

“He’s not a record exec.”

“No, he isn’t, but I am writing him a musical piece for him to use in marketing his new line. The record execs allowed him to go out to dinner with us and afterwards he wanted me to ride with him, so we could talk about what he wanted for the musical piece. He dropped me off at the record company and went on his way.”

Paul looked confused and a little dubious. “But there was also a picture of the two of you walking arm in arm.”

“Look, Lorraine and I are going to be doing a lot of business together. I’ll be working on that musical piece and on music for his runway shows. He will be working on my stage attire—and he has asked that I use him from here on out instead of Viardot for my new daily wardrobe. That only makes sense.  I only went to Viardot because I couldn’t get in to see Lorraine.”

“Oh. It says in here you’ve already been in to see him.”

“Yes, the afternoon you had your interview he called to say he had a last-minute cancellation.”

“But you were arm in arm with him.”

“That’s just part of his personality. He does everything with a flair. Look, if you are going to get jealous every time I do any business with Lorraine, this just isn’t going to work.”

Paul looked a little stricken at the last words. “Sorry, I guess I am just a bundle of nerves after everything that has happened. Lorraine was very nice referring me for this job, so I should be thankful. I’ll get my head on straight once I get a good night’s sleep.”

“Yes, you will. Now go get some sleep and let me work.” Philippe knew Paul wanted to come over and hug him but didn’t. Instead, he turned and walked forlornly away. Philippe told himself he was most definitely going to hell.

Philippe continued working on lyrics until one in the morning then went to bed. He did miss having Paul in his bed. Maybe he shouldn’t be so hard on him. He would have to see what the doctor said.

Philippe fell into a troubled sleep. One of his dreams was of the time at Versailles that Louis had told him that his Chevalier had been arrested and was a traitor and he had felt his entire world imploding. He was awakened the next morning by Paul.

He was trying to focus as Paul shoved his phone into his face. “What is it now?” He took the phone from Paul because it was shaking so much. He looked at the phone. It was another tabloid and this time the photo was of him and Lorraine leaving Lorraine’s house. It showed Lorraine and him, locked in a passionate kiss. How in the hell did that photo get taken?

Paul grabbed his phone and said, “It said this was taken yesterday MORNING. He didn’t take you to any record meeting. You went to his house and spent the night.”

Philippe could think of nothing to say. He was still half asleep.

“Don’t try and deny it. I’m not that stupid. At least I was honest with you. With all the people Lorraine is said to have slept with, YOU could be infected with something. You are such a hypocrite!”

“Paul, I’m sorry. It just happened. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Don’t give me that load of bullshit. I bet Lorraine helped me get that appointment, just so you’d have the afternoon free to go see him. Maybe he even arranged for them to put something in my drink at the party and told them to do what they did to me, so you’d have an excuse to leave me. Hell, maybe you even put him up to it.”

“Now look, Paul! You know me well enough to know I would never do that to you. Calm down.”

“You are a liar, a cheat and a hypocrite and I am done with you!”

Philippe sighed. “Yes, I can understand why you feel like that. I did lie, and I did cheat. I didn’t mean to, but it happened. And I do feel like a hypocrite.”

“I was always willing to do anything you wanted of me—even when it hurt me. You used me—no, you abused me. I am the biggest fool to think you cared about me.”

“Paul, I do care about you. If I didn’t I would have kicked you out last night. You know the record company is going to push me to drop you after word of that party gets to them. I am ready to fight them tooth and nail.”

“Don’t bother. I am packing and leaving.”

“Where will you go? What will you do for money?”

“A friend has offered me a couch to live on until I get my first advance from the modeling agency.”

“You are keeping that job after what those other models did to you?”

“Yes, working with them can’t be any harder than living with you, now that I know how little you think of me.”

“I do care for you, Paul. Why would I let you stay when I kicked the others out?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to keep yourself from being lonely. Maybe to have someone to fuck. I think I might even shop around and see if someone wants to pay me to write a tell-all book about the dirty secrets of Philippe, the pathetic rock star. God knows I have plenty of dirt to spill!”

At that Philippe felt himself getting mad. Paul had gone too far. “You are forgetting the nondisclosure agreement you signed. Remember? The record company made all of you sign one before moving in with me.”

“They can sue me, then. I bet your Lorraine would drop you like a hot potato after all that sordid stuff became public. You’d be damaged goods. Just like I am feeling now.”

“It would hurt your career, too.”

“No, I’d be the victim. The poor young man who fell under the spell of the evil rock star. You were much older than me. I was naïve, and you took advantage of me.”

“I am not that much older than you and you weren’t so damned naïve. We both know that. You told me you prostituted yourself on the street as a teenager. I gave you a chance out of that life.”

“Yes, I went from being a street prostitute to being your prostitute!”

Philippe could see Paul was close to tears. “Look Paul. I took you in. I gave you safety. I wasn’t always the best towards you, but I do care for you.” Philippe himself was getting close to losing it.

“It’s over. Let’s just cut our losses and call it quits.” Paul turned and left to go pack.

Philippe was stunned. He hadn’t imagined it would be this hard to say good bye to Paul. He had not wanted it to happen this soon and no, he had not planned a good exit strategy. This one was disastrous.

 


	13. Endings and Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe deals with the aftermath of the fight with Paul. Louis and Fabien will get credit for solving the rape of the woman and for uncovering the blackmailer. Philippe asks Fabien to check into whether Lorraine had anything to do with what happened to Paul against Fabien's advice. Philippe gives in to the temptation to spend another night with Lorraine.

Philippe decided it was best to just let Paul pack and leave.  Maybe they could get together and talk later after things had settled down. He had thought he would be happy when Paul was gone. But that was because he thought he would be with his Chevalier by then. This must be punishment for all his lies. He stayed in his room until he heard the front door slam. Damn, he had not thought to ask Paul for his keys. He’d have to get the locks changed.

After a few minutes, he decided Paul was not coming back and it was safe to leave his room. He got up and got dressed. Paul had left his keys on the bar counter. Still, he should change the locks. Just to be safe.  He fixed some coffee and ate a piece of toast. It tasted like chalk in his mouth. The flat was too quiet. He turned on some music. Every song seemed to remind him of Paul and the other puppies. Damn, he was feeling lonely. And sorry for himself. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Freedom to pursue Lorraine. Well, he had it. All the freedom in the world.

The idea that somehow Lorraine was behind Paul’s downfall haunted him. He decided to call Fabien and see if Fabien could do a little checking into whether Lorraine had had anything to do with the events at Paul’s party.

“Hello, Fabien. Philippe here. How did your meeting go with my brother?”

“Well enough. I can drop by if you want details.”

“Yes, that would be great. There is something else I want to talk to you about.”

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

They hung up. Philippe felt restless. He tried to work on his lyrics but couldn’t concentrate. He decided to check around the flat just to ensure Paul had not taken anything. He felt guilty for it, but it was the only thing he could think to do. The electronics were all there. The rooms were empty, but everything appeared in order. Paul had even made his bed before leaving. The room was spotless. Philippe was feeling sadder by the minute.

Finally, Fabien arrived. Louis had arranged for Fabien to go to the police with a criminal lawyer that Louis had hired to present the evidence he had found. That way Fabien (and Louis) would get the credit for “cracking the case.” Their meeting was scheduled for that afternoon.

Then Philippe told Fabien all that had transpired with Paul and about his suspicions about Lorraine.

“Are you really sure you want me to check Lorraine out? You’ve lost Paul. You could very well lose Lorraine, too.”

“I cannot go forward with Lorraine feeling he may have done this to Paul. What if Paul was exposed to HIV? It’s one thing to be young and ignore safety and get infected, but quite another to be exposed because someone else took your choice away. It is basically the same thing as someone who puts a drug in a woman’s drink and she gets raped.”

“Yes, you are right. I have a friend who can get into people’s phones. He is the reason I don’t trust phones. He can check if Lorraine made any calls or talked to anyone connected with that agency and those models.”

“You can do that? It’s legal?”

“You didn’t ask me for a legal option. Do you want to know or not?”

“Yes, I want to know.”

“It may take a day or two. I will get back to you. Meanwhile, I suggest you change locks, reset all your passwords, and notify your security people that Paul is no longer on your list.”

“Damn, that is going to be a lot of hassle.”

“Yes, but a spurned lover is one of the most dangerous people out there. I know. I’ve seen it in a lot of my divorce cases. It is amazing what people will do to those they used to love.”

“Yes, I guess you are right.”

“I will call you when I have found out anything, one way or the other. And for your sake, I hope Lorraine had nothing to do with this.”

“Thank you.”

After Fabien left, Philippe started making the changes Fabien had suggested. The flat was so quiet. It was driving Philippe crazy. Maybe a glass of wine would calm his nerves. But it was still morning. He weighed the pros and cons. He finally decided one glass wouldn’t hurt. There was an open bottle in the fridge. If it was a little flat, then he might not be so tempted to drink more than one glass. He got the bottle out and poured a glass. It went down smoothly. He decided to pour one more glass and take it into his work room. By the time he had downed the second glass, he was working again. The lyrics were flowing easier. Funny, but he always seemed more creative when he was sad. But then, most of his songs were gloomy. That was probably the reason why his songs were so dark—he could only write when he was sad. God, he was such a pathetic guy.

Then he had a flashback to one of his Versailles dreams. He and his Chevalier were kicked back in their rooms at Versailles. He was sitting on their bed with Chevalier’s head in his lap. He was feeding Chevalier grapes and stroking his hair. Occasionally they would kiss. A tender, loving kiss. They were talking about trivial things. Making fun of someone’s attire. Sharing court gossip. They were totally at ease with each other. The memories only made him sadder. Would he ever find this level of comfort with Lorraine? Right now, there was a lot of sexual tension between them. Sex was good, but it wasn’t the same as that total feeling of belonging to each other. Of being comfortable with each other.

Then he wondered about the current Lorraine. What had his recent life been like? Had he ever had a long-term love, or had he just zipped through a series of lovers? He decided to get on his computer and do some research about the modern-day Lorraine. Philippe found out Lorraine was from a wealthy family. His family had accepted his sexual preferences after an initial period of denial. It appeared that, from the time he came out in his teen years, Lorraine was with an ever-changing bevy of beautiful young men. Of course, who wouldn’t fall for that lovely face? Philippe could find no mention of any long-term relationships. Most of the online biographies were more about how Lorraine had worked his way up in the fashion business to start his own line. He had not used his family's wealth to buy into the fashion business. He had started at the bottom and worked his way up. Maybe his family name had helped get him opportunities that a person without a wealthy family would not have gotten, but he still put in the work and got to know the fashion world inside out—all on his own.

Maybe that was what was different between the Chevalier he had known and this modern day one. The Versailles Chevalier had never _had_ to work a day in his life. He and Philippe had fallen in love as teenagers and had been together for most of the rest of their lives. Being the lover of the brother of the King of France had its privileges as well as dangers. Yes, there had been hard times like when his Chevalier had been exiled, but overall, they had lived a privileged life.

Then it dawned on Philippe, that, unless Lorraine started dreaming the Versailles dreams, he could never be his Chevalier. Not totally.  He, Philippe, would remember, and Lorraine would not. But why did he, Fabien, and Louis have the dreams that brought them to awareness? Louis was still coming to terms with his newly found dreams. But like him, Fabien had had the dreams for a while. He should talk to Fabien about it. Maybe he would have some insight into it.

Then he got the sudden urge to see Lorraine. Why should he just sit around and wait for Lorraine to make all the moves? Against his better judgement he picked up his phone and called Lorraine. It went to voicemail. He left a message, “Would like to get together with you for dinner. Interested? Call me back. Philippe.” He hung up and kicked himself. Now he would be waiting for a phone call from Lorraine. And what if he got further into the relationship with Lorraine then found out it was Lorraine who had caused Paul’s “downfall.” What kind of fool would forgive someone like that? He would.

He went back to the fridge for another glass of wine and into his work room. This time he got some real work done. He worked through lunch and into the afternoon. He was startled when his phone rang. It was Lorraine. He answered.

“Hi, Philippe! Got your message! Funny but I was thinking of you. And yes, I would like dinner tonight. I won’t be done until about 7, though. You can come to my house—I’ll send my car—about 8:30.  I can have my cook prepare something for us.”

Philippe had meant for them to go out, but then it might be better not to be seen in public again so soon.

“And I will have my security clear my street of photographers and paparazzi.”

“Thank you. Yes, 8:30 will be good. I’ll be ready.”

“See you then.” And they hung up.

Philippe sat there stunned. What had he just done? Made a pact with the devil? Paul wasn’t even gone twenty-four hours and he was already chasing after Lorraine. He forced himself to get back to work and put Lorraine out of his mind for a while. He set an alarm on his phone to remind him to quit at 7:30 so he could get ready.

At 7:30 he was staring into his pathetic closet again.  He really needed to get more clothes from Lorraine. Since they weren’t going out in public, he chose a nicer pair of jeans and another button-down shirt. Maybe Lorraine would take one look and insist on getting him more clothing, immediately.

Soon he was in the car Lorraine had sent for him, pulling into Lorraine’s garage. Lorraine was at the door waiting for him and gave him a big hug and a sweet kiss. “I’m so glad you called. My cook has made us a beautiful roasted beef with potatoes, carrots and peas. Simple but very good.”

The smell of roasted beef hit Philippe’s nose and he realized he had not had anything to eat all day except coffee, toast and wine. No wonder why he was so skinny. “It smells wonderful and I am very hungry.”

Lorraine looked him up and down and said, “What have you eaten today? Not much I will bet! Well, I aim to put some meat on those bones of yours.”

Then Lorraine took his hand and led him to the table. “I had her set it all out, so she could go home. There is a delicious dessert in the fridge. Here, sit next to me. It’s cozier this way. You look nice tonight—a little drab but I will remedy that. Tomorrow you need to come to my shop. I will make time for you. The clothes you bought the other day should be ready, too.”

After they sat down, Lorraine looked at Philippe. “Are you okay? You haven’t said much since you got here.”

Philippe hesitated, then decided to just get it out there. “Paul moved out today.”

The look of surprise on Lorraine’s face looked real enough. “Oh, I am sorry for that. What happened?”

Philippe thought for a while before he answered. “He got drunk, did drugs and had sex with multiple men at that party. All things he promised he wouldn’t do.”

“Oh, my dear. I am so sorry, Philippe. I know you had feelings for him.”

“The thing is someone put the drugs into his drink. He wasn’t that sort of person.”

“That is absolutely horrible. I didn’t realize that was such a wild crowd. I would have never have recommended him to that agency if I had known. There are plenty of other agencies out there I could have chosen.”

“But that wasn’t the reason he left. He came to me and told me the truth of what had happened. We were working through it. It meant we couldn’t be together until he was cleared by a doctor. It meant he could have been exposed to HIV or something else and thus could expose me. He was devastated.”

“It seems like you are devastated, too. But you said that wasn’t the reason he left. What happened?”

“You. The tabloids. He saw the photo of you and me leaving that restaurant. I had already had an excuse ready for that. But it was the one of us leaving your house the next morning in your car kissing that did it.”

Lorraine looked surprised enough. There was no sneaky gleam in his eye. Nothing to hint he had any idea of what had happened.

“After I had come down on him for his actions at the party, the photos of you and I together made me look like a real ass. Hell, I am a real ass. Paul gave up everything for me, devoted himself to me, and what do I do but betray him.”

“Philippe, I am so sorry.”

“Did you do it?”

“Do what?” The look of total shock on Lorraine’s face looked real enough. Real enough to make Philippe wish he had not asked the question, but Philippe felt compelled to continue to the bitter end.

“Have them set him up at that party? Pay someone to give him drugs? Pay guys to have sex with him?”

Lorraine looked appalled and just stared at Philippe for a long time.

“Well, did you do it?”

“Philippe, I don’t know what you have heard about me, but I have never had to resort to that sort of tactic to get with someone I fancied. I am offended. If I want to steal someone away from another, I woo that person. I make them want me. Yes, I pull out all the flirting stops, but I would never physically sabotage their current relationship. And I certainly would never put someone in danger for my own selfish interests.”

Philippe could feel Lorraine lean away from him as Lorraine said, “I can see you are in a lot of pain over the loss. But I swear to you, I had nothing to do with that except to recommend him for the job. If he needs a job, I will hire him at my agency. I can always use another runway model. He is not going back to work with those people, is he?”

“I think you are the last person he would accept a job from. And, yes, he is. He has no other choice. Without my support he needs a job and that is the one he has.”

“Yes, you are right, he wouldn’t want to work for me. It would be awkward all the way around.  Look, I will talk to a good friend of mine. I trust him. The people he hires have good reputations. I will ask him to approach Paul and offer him more money. Even if I have to pay for it myself.”

“Why would you do that?”

“How could I not help? Look, I wanted to steal you away from him, but my plan was to get him a good job. Get his career going so well he wouldn’t be so hurt when I took you from him. Maybe even have him leave you to work on his career. I never wanted to destroy him. Never. I don’t do that to people. Now let’s eat something. The food is getting cold.”

Philippe suddenly felt light-headed and weak. Yes, he probably needed to get some food into him. But he wasn’t going to let Lorraine off the hook so easily. If Fabien found any hint at all that Lorraine had a hand in what happened to Paul, he and Lorraine were done. His Chevalier was conniving, but he would never hurt anyone. He remembered back when he had accused the Chevalier of poisoning Henriette; the look of hurt the Chevalier had given him. If Lorraine had set Paul up, then he could never be his Chevalier. Maybe there was a reason Lorraine had not had the dreams. Could he be too different from the historical Lorraine? But then, if being very similar to your historical character was a criterion, why did he have the dreams? The historic Philippe was no rock star and had a life totally different than this one he had experienced. So far, he could see no rhyme nor reason why one person had Versailles dreams, and another didn’t.

They ate a quiet supper, not saying a word to each other. At first, Philippe didn’t think he could eat, he was so upset. But he took a bite and his body forced him to eat.

“Do you want dessert? It is strawberry trifle.”

Philippe loved strawberry trifle. “Yes, thank you.”

Lorraine got up and fixed them each a plate of trifle. “She has fixed this for me before and it is very good.”

Philippe ate the trifle, again without talking.

When they finished eating, Lorraine asked, “What now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to go home? My driver will take you.”

“I don’t want to be alone. I am a terrible person.”

“You probably don’t want to hear this now, and probably not from me. But maybe you and Paul just weren’t meant for each other.”

“I know that. That is why I am a terrible person. I used him.”

“We all use someone in our life just as we all get used by others at some point.”

“I don’t need platitudes.”

“No, you don’t. I’m sorry. Do you want to go sit by the fire for a while? I can get us some wine.”

Philippe closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “I shouldn’t. But I will.”

“Go sit by the fire. I’ll bring you a glass of wine, put the food away and join you.”

Philippe got up and went to the fireplace. Lorraine turned it on and dimmed the lights for him, so he could see the flame better. He opened a bottle of wine, poured a glass, then brought the bottle and the glass to Philippe. Philippe thanked him, took the glass, drank some, and then stared back into the fire.

Lorraine put away the food and stacked the dishes for the cleaning service tomorrow. He got a glass and went over to sit by Philippe. Philippe scooted away from him a little and finished off the first glass of wine. Lorraine poured him more. “You know, getting drunk isn’t going to make you feel any better.”

“I know.” Philippe drained the second glass and Lorraine poured him more.

“You can stay here tonight. We don’t have to have sex.”

“Good because I don’t want to have sex. Not with you. Not tonight.” Philippe poured another glass of wine.

Lorraine put his arm around him. He tried to pull away, but Lorraine held on and put his other arm around him in a hug. “Put your head on my chest.” Philippe gave in and put his head on Lorraine’s chest. Lorraine gently stroked his hair and could feel the tears on his chest soaking through his shirt.

Philippe raised his head and said, “I need more wine.” Lorraine let go of him and let him pour another glass of wine. Lorraine poured himself the last of the wine in the bottle.

“Do you have more?”

“Yes, I’ll get another bottle.”

Philippe sat staring at the fire and drinking the wine. When the last of the second bottle was finished, he turned and put his head on Lorraine’s chest. Lorraine put his arms around him and caressed his hair.

After a while, Lorraine heard soft snoring from Philippe. “Philippe, we need to go to bed now” and roused Philippe enough to get him to stand up. Lorraine helped him to the bedroom and helped him onto the bed. Lorraine stood there staring down at Philippe deciding whether to remove his clothes or not. He finally made his decision and unbuttoned Philippe’s shirt and managed to pull one arm out and then the other. Then he took Philippe’s shoes off, unzipped his pants and pulled them off. He took his own clothes off and crawled into bed next to Philippe. He put his arms around Philippe, who snuggled into him. Soon, Lorraine heard Philippe's soft snore again and decided he’d better get some sleep, too. This wasn’t at all how he had envisioned this night. If it had been any one of his other many lovers, he would have put Philippe in a car and sent him home. He had no patience for emotional, needy people.

Yet, here he was, cuddling a naked Philippe—with no hope of sex or any type of satisfying end to the night. What was it about this mess of a man that appealed to him? What in the hell was wrong with him, anyway? To even consider taking this pathetic, needy person as a lover. A rock star, no less, complete with a past drug addiction, absolutely no fashion sense, and seemingly on the decline in every aspect. And Philippe had drunk so much wine, he probably wouldn’t even remember the night at all.

Tomorrow he would have to cut him loose. He threatened the carefully built walls Lorraine had built around his heart. No, if he was going to fall for someone it would have to be someone famous, with a good standing in the world. Not this wreck of a man. Then, Lorraine felt a need to stroke Philippe’s hair. Philippe did look a little angelic as he slept.


	14. The Hangover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe tries to make it up to Lorraine for being a bad guest the evening before. Lorraine takes advantage of an apologetic Philippe. The friendship between Philippe and Fabien grows. Fabien has good news for Philippe. Because Fabien has done such a good job for him, Philippe makes Fabien an offer. Philippe sends Paul a text. Philippe tries to talk Louis into championing Paul's case.

Lorraine woke up very early the next morning. He looked at the sleeping Philippe and his resolve to cut ties with him weakened. Why not at least enjoy him a little while before turning him loose? Philippe would be very apologetic today and would be easy to manipulate. Besides, Philippe owed him some amorous attentions after the disaster of last night. Lorraine carefully untangled himself from a sleeping Philippe and slipped out of bed. He quietly left the room to call his assistant to let him know he would not be coming in to the shop that day. He said he had some personal things to attend to. He almost never missed a day of work, so his assistant was surprised. Lorraine knew he didn’t have any major clients to deal with today and that his employees could take care of the rest of what was on the schedule.

He went back into the bedroom and slipped back into bed with a very out of it Philippe. What good was it running your own company if you couldn’t take a little time for yourself? He put his arms around Philippe. He lay there for a while, just listening to Philippe’s breathing and studying his face. Right now, he looked angelic, a little scruffy, but angelic nonetheless. Lorraine was surprised at himself and the feelings he was having. What in the world could he be seeing in this pathetic, messed up rock star? His “type” was the young, good-looking socialite, jet-setter. Lorraine despised needy people, yet here he was worrying about the needs of this very needy lover. Just when you thought you had life figured out, it throws you a curve ball. Lorraine gently caressed the hair of that “curve ball” and drifted back to sleep.

Philippe woke up with the worst headache, then realized that it was Lorraine’s arms wrapped around him. He had vague memories of being a real asshole last night. He was trying to piece together the blurred memories of the night, so he could figure out what apologies he would need to make. Even though he was enjoying the comfort of Lorraine’s arms, he desperately needed to relieve himself. He was trying to slip out of Lorraine’s embrace when he saw Lorraine’s eyes open.

“Trying to slip away from me?” asked a sleepy Lorraine.

“Just need to go take a piss. I’ll be back, that is, if you want me to.”

“And why wouldn’t I want you back in bed with me?”

“I don’t think I was a very good guest last night.”

“Oh, you were the perfect guest. You ate my food, drank my wine, brooded a while, felt sorry for yourself, then passed out. The perfect guest.”

“Sorry, but if you don’t let me go, I’m going to piss all over this bed.” Lorraine removed his arms and Philippe made a dash for the restroom—well, it was as good of a dash his throbbing head would let him make. It was more of a stumbling shuffle.

Philippe decided to take time after relieving himself to brush his teeth. His mouth felt totally disgusting. When he came out, he was surprised to see the bed empty. He couldn’t blame Lorraine for bailing. Philippe knew he was a disgusting mess. As he stood there trying to decide what he should do next, Lorraine reappeared at the door, still totally naked, but with a bottle of an electrolyte drink in one hand and a bottle of pain reliever in the other.

“Here, take some of these with this drink. It should help you feel a little better. When you’re done, I suggest we take a shower.”

“Yeah, bet I stink.”

“A shower will refresh both of us.” Lorraine handed him the drink and pain relievers, and Philippe obediently swallowed a couple of the pain relievers and downed the bottled drink. Lorraine then pushed him gently towards the bathroom.

Soon, Philippe was leaning against the wall of the shower feeling the warm water rushing over his body. “You are right, this does feel good,” he said to Lorraine who was standing next to him. Lorraine picked up a loofah, put soap on it, turned Philippe around and started lathering Philippe’s back. Lorraine's touch made Philippe feel better. Lorraine moved the loofah down to Philippe’s buttocks, to his thighs and down his legs. He turned Philippe around and proceeded to wash his chest, arms, and belly, then gently washed his genital area, eliciting a groan from Philippe.

“Do you feel up to washing me?”

“Yes, I feel a lot better. Let me have that loofah and turn around.” Philippe washed Lorraine’s back side and when he turned Lorraine around, they kissed, long and hungrily. From that moment on, the goal was no longer getting clean. Philippe ran the loofah over Lorraine’s chest while his lips sucked on his neck. The loofah then made its way to Lorraine’s flat belly. Philippe dropped the loofah and went to his knees. Lorraine groaned and leaned against the wall of the shower as he felt Philippe’s hands on his cock. The groan turned to a low moan as Philippe’s mouth took over. He grabbed a handful of Philippe’s wet hair and began pumping his hips slowly in response to the intensifying sucking of Philippe’s mouth. He was soon crying out as the nerves in his cock fired.

When Lorraine gained control again, he said, “The water is getting cold, let’s dry off and crawl back into bed.”

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

“Not today.”

Philippe gave him a sly smile. “Good, then I have a chance to make up for the poor guest I was last night.”

They took their time drying each other off. It was Lorraine’s turn to push Philippe onto the bed and use his hands and mouth to bring him to full arousal. Philippe pulled Lorraine up to him to kiss and whispered in his ear, “I want to fuck you.”

Lorraine responded with, “There’s oil in the nightstand, let me get it.” Lorraine got the oil out of the drawer. He sat, straddling Philippe’s legs, and poured a little oil on his hand, then used the hand to stroke Philippe’s cock and distribute the oil.

“Enough! Let me have the oil and turn around.”

Lorraine handed the oil to Philippe and turned around on his knees, still straddling Philippe’s legs. Philippe used the oil as he kneaded and plied Lorraine’s buttocks, slipping an oiled finger into his crack, finding his way to his hole. Lorraine moaned as the finger penetrated him and Philippe prepared him for his cock. Philippe put his hands onto Lorraine’s hips and guided him down onto his cock. Both men moaned as the tip of Philippe’s cock entered Lorraine. Philippe let Lorraine take his time lowering and lifting himself allowing the cock to work its way in deeper until full penetration and comfort was achieved. Then Philippe took over, pushing Lorraine’s hips down to meet the upward thrust of his own hips. Lorraine made little “uhnnn” sounds at each thrust, that turned into moans as Philippe increased his intensity. Just when Lorraine thought he could take no more, he heard Philippe grunt and moan as he came inside Lorraine. Several grunts and thrusts later, Philippe was spent. Lorraine waited a few minutes before disengaging and moved around to lay beside Philippe. Philippe kissed him and stroked his hair.

“Hopefully, that made up for my bad conduct last night.”

“It’s a start,” answered Lorraine.

They both drifted off to a contented sleep.

They woke to eat a lunch of sandwiches made with the roasted beef from the night before. Philippe had asked for wine to drink with lunch and Lorraine had obliged. They enjoyed a bottle of wine as they exchanged small talk about their current lives. Philippe explained how he had bought the flat with the money made off his last album several years ago and was now living off royalties from the songs he’d written. Lorraine told Philippe a little about some of the clients he had and the day to day work of being a fashion designer.

Half-way through the second bottle of wine, things got amorous again and it ended with Lorraine pushing Philippe over the arm of the couch and having his way with him. Afterwards, Lorraine had pulled Philippe up and put his arms around him, using a hand to push the hair back so Lorraine could whisper in Philippe’s ear. “Now, you have fully made up for your conduct last night.”

They reheated the roasted beef and vegetables for their supper, then spent the evening sitting by the fireplace, watching the flames dance, kissing, caressing and making love again. They fell asleep in each other’s arms. Philippe thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep that it had been the perfect day. Even if Lorraine wasn’t “his Chevalier,” he could see a future with him.

Lorraine, on the other hand, had thought that Philippe had been a surprisingly good lover—for a pathetic rock star, but that he had had better, although not in recent months. This encounter with Philippe had ended what Lorraine thought of as a “drought.” It seemed like the House of Lorraine took more and more of his time and his social forays were more to gain business than for pleasurable pursuits. Lorraine made a promise to himself to concentrate on the pleasurable pursuits in the future.

The next morning, they were up early. Lorraine was back to his “business as usual” demeanor as he prepared himself for work.

“Can we get together tonight?” Philippe asked Lorraine.

“Sorry, I have a prior commitment. I’ll call you though. I imagine you have a lot of work to do with your music to meet your deadlines with the record company. And you promised me something for my marketing campaign, don’t forget. I need that as soon as you can get it to me.”

“Oh, yes, I’ll make that a priority.” Philippe felt a little let down, but then he knew Lorraine led a busy life.

In the car, Philippe told Lorraine, “I really appreciate the time you have taken with me. I would not have blamed you if you had sent me home night before last and refused to see me again. I was a pathetic mess.”

“We all have it rough now and then. I’m glad I was there to help you.”

“Yesterday was wonderful, too. I haven’t had a day that good in a long time. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. It was a reminder that I don’t take enough time for myself.” Lorraine reached over and took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him. “You are a very special person, Philippe.” They were now pulling up to the House of Lorraine. “Now, I have to get to work,” and he was out the car door.

When Philippe walked into his flat, he realized how quiet and depressing it was. Not too long ago, it was filled with the chatter of his puppies, playing music, arguing, laughing, yes, and even having sex with each other and with him, when he wanted.

And always, Paul was there to greet him at the door with a smile and kind word. Philippe hoped that wherever Paul was, he was safe and happy. He worried that Paul might slip back into drug abuse after all the trauma he had experienced recently. Philippe took out his phone with the thought of maybe sending Paul a text and realized that his phone had been turned off. Lorraine had probably done it to ensure they had a quiet day. When Philippe turned it back on, he had quite a few messages, several from Fabien, the others from his agent and record company.

Philippe went through the messages from Fabien. Fabien had some information about Lorraine and about Paul. He had even come to the flat to speak with Philippe and now was worried since Philippe had not been there and Fabien had not heard from him.

Philippe immediately dialed Fabien’s number. “Philippe, glad you finally took time to call me back. Are you well?”

“Yes, I am, now. Had a rough patch but Lorraine helped pull me through. Sorry, he turned off my phone and I didn’t realize it until just now.”

“Here I was worried about you and you were off with your boyfriend. Do you have time to see me? I have quite a bit of information to give you.”

“Yes, come over any time. I’m back at home. And can you tell me, the information about Lorraine, is it good or bad?”

“It is good for you.”

“Thank you. I’ll be waiting.”

“I am close by. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

Philippe was relieved. It sounded like Lorraine did not have a hand in what happened to Paul, but he was anxious to hear those exact words from Fabien. Philippe paced until he heard the door buzzer.

To Philippe’s relief, it was Fabien. When Philippe offered Fabien something to drink, Fabien asked for water.

Philippe got him a glass and they sat on the couch to talk.

“First off, I can say with confidence that Lorraine had nothing to do with what happened to Paul. I can also say that there is enough evidence to punish those who did that to Paul. The idiots recorded everything they did to Paul, including themselves bragging about what they were doing.”

“That is awful. But how did you find that out?”

“They posted it on Facebook! They set up a page using aliases, but it was easy to track who actually posted it.”

“But if Paul finds that out, it will devastate him.”

“It wasn’t on Facebook long. The content got it kicked off. But we now have the footage and they can be prosecuted. There is just one problem.”

“What is that?”

“The police don’t want to pursue the matter. They say it falls more under prank than criminal act. The way they put it to me made me realize that they don’t consider what happened important because they see it as just a bunch of gay guys playing pranks on each other.”

“Can they do that?”

“They are trying to. Someone needs to put political pressure on them. Someone like your brother.”

“I don’t know that he’d want to do that. He’s pretty conservative and he doesn’t really approve of my lifestyle.”

“Then he’s missing a real political opportunity as well as a chance to help make the world a little better place.”

“True, I’ll talk to him about it. Why did they do it?”

“Because Paul was proud of living with you, a big rock star. They were jealous. They recorded the person putting the drugs in his drink and all those who had sex with him. The good part is that, if the police choose to pursue this, then, when they were arrested, they would all have to be tested to find out if they have any diseases. That would let Paul know exactly what he needed to be treated for and it is possible he has nothing to worry about.”

“Okay, that, alone, is important enough for me to call my brother and push for this. Thank you for all your help!”

“I’m glad that things have worked out in a positive manner. A lot of time, what I find doesn’t help my clients, it just makes it harder on them. There is good news about the rape of that woman and owner of that establishment. Charges have been filed and people arrested. Looks like justice will be done in those matters, too.”

“You know, you are a handy person to have around. My record company has been pushing me to set up a better security team. I’ll need one once I go on tour again. How would you like to be head of my new security?”

“I don’t know much about security for concerts and the like.”

“You could hire someone with specific experience to handle that part. What I need is someone who can go through what I am doing now to determine what is working, what isn’t and whatever else needs to be done. The truth is that I haven’t been in the public eye much in the last few years, so it didn’t matter if I didn’t have security properly set up. But that’s all changing. I’d rather be out ahead of it. The job carries a decent salary and, until things really heat up, you could still do some work on the side if you wanted. Think about it and let me know. I’d feel better having you on my team!”

“I will think about it then and let you know. I am tired of having to work on all those divorce cases.”

“If you want more information, I can put you in contact with my record company and they can explain things in more detail. Here is the number of the person to contact.” Philippe gave him the information he needed.

“How about a glass of wine to celebrate all the good news?” Philippe asked.

“Thank you, no. I don’t drink much and not in the middle of the day. I still have some work to do. “

They said their goodbyes and Philippe was alone again in his quiet apartment. He decided he’d call Louis that night and talk to him about advocating for Paul’s case. He decided to wait before returning the calls to his agent and record company. He poured himself a glass of wine and went in to work on the piece for Lorraine’s marketing. The sooner he had something done on that, the sooner he had a legitimate reason to call Lorraine again.

As he worked, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he should text Paul. They had been together for four years. He couldn’t just stop caring, especially knowing all that Paul had been through lately. He sat there trying to think of what he should say. He typed in something then erased it. After several attempts he came up with, “Hi. Sorry things ended the way they did. Know that I will always care for you. You are still on my medical insurance so do not neglect to take care of yourself. If you ever want to talk or need help, please don’t hesitate to call me. Wishing you the best.” He reread it several times, then hit send.

As he worked, he kept waiting for an answer then told himself to just let it slide. He would either hear from Paul or he wouldn’t. And, if he did hear from Paul, he wasn’t sure what he would do. He couldn’t let Paul back into his life. Not if he wanted a chance for him and Lorraine. And what of him and Lorraine? They had had a wonderful day but now things were back to the way they were before. He had forgotten to talk to Fabien about the reincarnation thing, but then he doubted Fabien knew anything more than he did himself and that was very little.

Then he realized he was spending too much time on things he couldn’t solve and that he needed to concentrate on his lyrics and music.  The thought hit him that he would have to sleep in his bed alone tonight. He felt empty and so alone. He decided to pour those feelings out onto the page. He knew what he was writing down was a jumbled mess, but it felt good to get the words out. Maybe later he could find some thought or sentence in it that made sense and could be built upon, but for now he just wrote it all down. Pages and pages of it. Late in the afternoon, his phone rang. It was Fabien asking if he’d like to go out to catch a bite to eat. Philippe jumped at the opportunity. He was happy when he realized he now had a friend in Fabien.

Then he decided to go ahead and call Louis. Louis was surprised to hear from him. When Philippe explained about Paul's case, Louis was hesitant to get involved.

“If the police think there isn’t a case there, then there probably isn’t.”

“But they are basing their decisions on prejudice. That is not right. I know you aren’t comfortable with the subject, but the problems and prejudices exist. I am gay and that is just how I was made. You know that. I cannot try to be straight no more than you could try to be homosexual.”

Louis sighed. “Yes, you are right. I am just not sure I am ready to take this subject on in a political arena.”

“Someone has to tackle it. What if it had been me that had been drugged then raped? Would you defend me?”

“Was it rape though? He voluntarily had sex with those guys. No one had a gun to his head.”

“If a woman had been drugged, then set up to have sex with a bunch of guys, wouldn’t you call that rape? Think about the case you recently took on for me. Does it make it any less of a crime because the victim is a man and not a woman?”

“I see your point.”

“Please brother, do this for me. No, do this because it is the _right _thing to do.”__

____

“Okay, let me run this by my political team. I’ll discuss it with them to find out what we can do. I’ll get back to you on it.”

____

“Thanks. You know these issues affect a good part of the population. You could gain new voters.”

____

“And I could turn off more conservative voters.”

____

“But it would be the right thing to do. The case is there. Fabien says it is a slam dunk.”

____

“Oh, yes, I wanted to ask you a question about this Fabien—Marchal is his last name isn’t it?”

____

“Yes, it is.”

____

“Is he from Versailles? I had a dream about him the other night. I think he was head of my police.”

____

“Yes! I am so glad you remember. I have asked him to head my new security team.”

____

“He was pretty ruthless in my dreams. Effective, but ruthless. Are you sure you can trust him?”

____

“Yes, he and I are becoming good friends.”

____

“I guess that is good.  Sometimes, though, I think you are too trusting. I need to go now, I’ve got an appointment. Take care, brother. Stay safe. I will be getting back to you.”

____

With that, Philippe hung up and went back to his work. He had faith that his brother would take up the cause. There _would _be justice for Paul.__

____


	15. Paul Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Fabien enjoy a night out at a pub where they drink, talk and play billiards, until the night is ruined when Lorraine walks into the pub arm in arm with another man and goes to a private room with him. Philippe is devastated and ends the night. At home, loneliness overcomes him until he gets a call from Paul who is answering a text he sent previously. He invites Paul over to talk, but the nights ends in lovemaking where Paul surprises Philippe with his aggressiveness. Philippe is intrigued by this new Paul, no longer the meek, little puppy, and contemplates a new, better relationship with Paul.

The call to Louis had buoyed Philippe’s spirits. He tackled the musical piece for Lorraine with new enthusiasm and worked until about an hour before he was to meet Fabien. He showered, dressed and waited for the car he had called for. Soon he was at the place they had agreed to, an upper scale English-type Pub that offered good English Pub-style food, darts and billiards.

Fabien was already inside at a table waiting on him. Philippe asked with a grin, “Tell me Fabien, are you always on time? Are you ever just a little bit late?”

“It is not polite to make people wait. You are not late, I was early to ensure we got a table.”

“Thank you, that was thoughtful!” Philippe sat down. “You are drinking tonight?”

“Yes, I drink on occasion. It just seems wrong to go to a pub and not order a beer. Are you going to have wine or beer?”

“Beer, of course! I’m at a pub. They’d run me out if I ordered wine.”

“No, they wouldn’t, but they’d probably laugh at you behind your back.” Fabien beckoned to the serving woman who came over and took Philippe’s order.

“Do you play darts or billiards?” Fabien asked Philippe.

“I can play both. I’d say I am an average player, at best.”

“We’ll play a round or two of whichever is open after we eat. Maybe make a friendly wager.”

“In that case, shall I go ahead and give you my money now? Something tells me you are a great player.”

“I do well in amateur tournaments sometimes. I’ll give you a handicap.”

“That probably wouldn’t help me. Oh, and by the way, I called my brother and he is going to talk to his political team about advocating for charges to be brought against Paul’s attackers.”

“Good, I hope they do the right thing.”

They sat and drank their beer, talking about random trivial things, then decided to order some food and another round of beers. As Philippe talked with Fabien, he realized Fabien must live a lonely life. He had no family close and didn’t make many friends—he said because he was always wrapped up in his cases. The divorce cases usually involved a lot of surveillance—sitting in a car waiting for that moment to catch someone in the act of cheating.

“It’s sad really, when I catch the person cheating. It means another marriage will end in a bitter fight.”

“How often do you get a case where the person doesn’t cheat?”

“Those are the saddest of all.  If someone is convinced their partner is cheating enough to hire an investigator to catch them in the act, then that marriage is also doomed.”

Their food arrived, and Fabien asked that they do no more shop talk. They were almost finished eating their meal when Philippe decided to ask Fabien what he knew about reincarnation. Did he know why some people are aware and others aren’t?

Fabien’s answer shocked him, “You know I had those same questions and I found this group called the Reincarnation Family. The name sounded bizarre and made me think of a cult. But I was curious, so I went to a meeting. Basically, they are just a group of people who feel they have been reincarnated and get together to discuss the concerns they have. Members also put themselves and their photos into a data base where others can search for them. I didn’t put my name into it because I know how that kind of information can be misused. But I do know of quite a few people who were reunited through it.”

“Did you use it to hunt for Claudine?”

“You can only use it if you agree to put your own name into it. I didn’t agree to the terms, so I couldn’t search for her in it.”

“Do they have any theory why some people are aware of their past lives and others aren’t?”

“Oh, they have all kinds of theories, but none of them made much sense to me. The only thing I got out of it is that those of us who do remember are in the minority. It seems the ‘natural’ thing is for people not to remember.”

“What about trying to get someone who doesn’t remember to remember?”

“Some said they had success with that. Their method was to get close to that person and try to replicate the relationship they had with that person before. Some told the person about the reincarnation and relayed information about their previous relationship until the other person remembered.”

“That will work?”

“I am doubtful that it did work. If you feed information to someone about what your previous life together was like, are they really remembering, or have they just accepted that information as real memory? Tell somebody something enough times and after a while they believe it is true.”

“Yes, I see your point.”

“I also saw times when that method failed miserably. Think for a moment what it would be like to be falling in love with someone who keeps telling you how this past life was so great. It could make you feel like the current life wasn’t enough for that other person. Think of it like a spouse whose previous spouse has died and now they are with a new person but all they think and talk about is the dead spouse.”

“Yes, that would ruin any relationship. What do you suggest I do?”

“Exactly what you are doing now. Get close to Lorraine, develop a new relationship and don’t bring up the past relationship. Be happy in the one you have with him now. Maybe someday, something you do will trigger a memory. He already knows you think you are reincarnated. He already thinks the two of you are descendants of the famous lovers. He has all the clues. You just have to wait and see if he remembers or not.”

“What if he doesn’t remember?”

“Then be satisfied with the relationship you do have.”

“You make it sound so easy. Just be satisfied with what you have. That probably works for you because you are such a pragmatic person. But I am an emotional wreck. That is what makes me a good rock star—I have turned my emotions into a career. And it is what makes you a good investigator. You use your logic to come to unemotional conclusions, based solely on fact.”

“Maybe we can learn from each other and come to a middle ground. I see a billiards table has opened. Let’s go grab it and play a few games.”

“You go, I’ll get the server and let her know we’re moving to the billiards area.”

Fabien went over to claim the table and started setting up a new game, while Philippe got the server’s attention. What Fabien didn’t know is that Philippe paid for the food and already consumed drinks, then set up a tab for them at the billiards table. Philippe thought it was the least he could do after all of Fabien’s help.

A little later Philippe was studying how to make a shot when he saw a scowl cross Fabien’s face. He turned to see what Fabien was scowling at and saw Lorraine walking into the Pub arm in arm with another man. The billiards table was located to the side and a little behind the eating area so someone entering wouldn’t have a clear view of that area unless they turned and looked behind them. Lorraine was in animated conversation with that other person, so he wasn’t paying any attention to those around him. The hostess escorted Lorraine and his guest to one of the private rooms.

“Maybe it is a business meeting,” Fabien said.

“Doesn’t look like that to me. But he never said anything to me about us being exclusive. He is free to do what he wants, see who he wants, as am I.”

“You look hurt.”

“I feel hurt. I just thought what we had the other day was special. I guess I misread the intent. That’s my mistake.” Philippe leaned back down for his shot and missed it totally. “I think when we finish this round I would like to go home. I don’t want to be here when he comes back out. It might not be a pretty scene and I don’t want to wind up in jail for a bar room brawl.”

The game didn’t last long because Philippe missed the next two times he got to shoot. Fabien ran the rest of the table and won. Philippe paid his bet and told Fabien he had settled the bill. When Philippe learned Fabien had taken a bus to the bar because he didn’t want to drive after drinking, Philippe insisted on giving Fabien a ride home in his car.

As Fabien was getting out of the car at his house, Philippe said, “Thanks for a great evening. You saved me from a lonely night of wine drinking and wallowing in my sorrow.”

“Well, I am sorry that the night ended on such an unhappy note. But, really, you should wait and talk to him about it and not make any hasty judgments.”

“There you go, the pragmatic one. You know me, I’d rather wallow in my emotions and believe the worst. Lorraine does have a reputation for having multiple lovers. I guess I am just not into that. But thanks for the advice. I know you mean well.”

Fabien shook his head. He knew it would do no good to argue with Philippe.

When Philippe walked into the empty flat, all he could think about was Lorraine. He knew he had no right to feel anger at Lorraine. They had not made any promises to be exclusive. But he wasn’t so much angry as he was hurt. How could they have had such intimate moments together if it didn’t mean anything? Philippe thought on all the times his Chevalier had gotten jealous of him at Versailles. The time with Thomas came to mind. The Chevalier had shot Thomas—but that was after Thomas had almost killed Philippe. But that was a whole different world. He was in this world now. How ironic that it seemed their roles had reversed.

He was jarred out of his thoughts by the ringtone of his phone. It was Paul. He answered immediately.

“Paul? Are you okay?”

“Hi, Philippe. Yes, I am doing well enough. Got your text. It was very sweet. I, too, am sorry for the way things ended with us. I understand why you were mad with me.”

“Paul, I had no right to be mad at you. You told me the truth and I jumped all over you for it. I should have been supportive—you needed my help and I didn’t give it. I will never forgive myself for that.”

“It’s all water under the bridge now. I am dealing with the aftermath of it all. Thank you for keeping me on your medical insurance.”

“I would be a total ass if I didn’t allow you the medical help you need now.” Philippe wondered if he should say anything about the Facebook confessions of his abusers and how his brother might champion Paul’s cause. He decided not to get his hopes up at this point. “Do you have a place to stay?”

“Yes, I am staying with a friend. I am looking for another job, so I don’t have to put up with these people, but it’s difficult since I just barely started this job and am new in the business.”

Philippe thought about the offer Lorraine had made to have his friend hire Paul. At this point, though, Philippe was unsure whether Lorraine would come through. “Just keep putting your name out there and do your best at this job no matter how hard it is. Do the managers know what your co-workers did?”

“Oh, god, no. I’d be too embarrassed to tell them that. They’d just frown on all of us for playing pranks.”

“What they did was not a prank. It was sexual assault.”

“Thank you, but I’d rather not talk about it anymore. I just wanted to say thank you for the insurance.”

“You know it is so quiet here without you or the others here. All of you gave this place life.”

“Oh, I sort of thought you and Lorraine would be spending a lot of time together.”

“No, things are not developing very fast. To be truthful, I am not sure anything will develop with him at all.”

“You took a while to shine up to me, but I loved you the minute I saw you.”

“Yes, you did, my dear sweet, Paul. And I took advantage and used you. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t using me if I consented. In a relationship it’s almost always true that one partner gives a little more than the other. That’s just the way life is. You know, I could come over and keep you company right now, if you wanted. We don’t have to have sex.”

Philippe was tempted. It would be nice to cuddle with Paul—and to have someone to talk to.

Paul pushed his point, “The doctors have tested and treated me. I’ve been cleared of most things. There are just a few things we need to wait on to see if they develop. I can wear pajamas and underwear if that would make you feel more comfortable. It would just be nice to have you close, hear your heartbeat and feel you breathing. But I understand, if you say no. You and Lorraine have made a commitment to each other and I shouldn’t try to interfere.”

“Paul, Lorraine and I have not made any commitments to each other. I’m not even sure he _can_ commit to one person. Yes, come on over. Do you need me to send a car for you?”

“Only if you are sure you want me to come over.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Give me your address.” Philippe got the address and they hung up. He made the call for the car and waited. When the door buzzer went off, he immediately let Paul in. They stood there awkwardly looking at each other for a few moments. Then Paul made the move to give Philippe a quick hug. Philippe hugged him back and they remained in the embrace for a while with Paul putting his head on Philippe’s chest. Philippe stroked his hair.

“My dear, Paul. What you have had to go through breaks my heart.”

Paul didn’t say anything, but Philippe could feel him sobbing quietly. Philippe wrapped his arms around him tighter. “It is okay. You are safe now with me.” Philippe felt the hypocrisy in his words as he spoke them, but what else could he say?

After a few minutes Paul raised his head and looked at Philippe. Philippe gently wiped his tears away. “Go sit on the couch while I get us something to drink. Is wine okay?”

“No, I can’t. It will interfere with the antibiotics I am on. But you can have some. Just some water for me, thank you.”

“Oh, sure, I wasn’t thinking. Go sit now. I’ll be right back.”

Paul went over to sit on the couch while Philippe opened a bottle of wine for himself and fixed a glass of water for Paul. He came over with the wine, a glass, and Paul’s water. He sat beside Paul. “Are you feeling well, physically?”

“Mostly. I have some soreness and bruising but it is getting better. How is the album going?”

“I’ve got some lyrics going and the beginnings of some riffs and melodies. I’m not making progress fast enough for the record execs, but I think it is coming along well.”

“Good, I look forward to hearing new songs. I have played your older music to death—but I never get tired of listening to your voice.”

“You are a liar. _I_ get tired of listening to my voice. Sometimes I wonder what ever made me think to be a rock star—of all things.” He couldn’t help but think from a king’s brother to a rock star, where was the logic in that?

“I think you like being the center of attention and you are creative.”

“Are you saying I am conceited? Of course, you are, because I am. I think too much of myself.”

Paul reached his hand over to touch Philippe’s face, “The doctor says it is okay for me to kiss—my mouth has been medically cleared. Oh god, that sounds awful.”

“Yes, it does. It makes me realize the wrong that has been done to you and makes me angry at those who did it to you.” Philippe bent to kiss Paul, gently and slowly. “I hate the thought of anyone hurting you, yet I know I am the one who has hurt you the most.”

“You are forgiven.” Paul put a hand on each side of Philippe’s face, then kissed Philippe hungrily. Philippe responded chasing away all the feelings of loneliness.  Paul slid his hands under Philippe’s shirt and around to his back, groping and kneading. “I live for the touch of you.” He moved his hand to the front and lifted Philippe’s shirt and kissed his chest, his belly. Paul whispered, “I brought condoms.”

Philippe closed his eyes enjoying the sensation. Paul’s hands found the button on Philippe’s jeans and undid it, then reached for the zipper—but Philippe grabbed his hand. “Stop. We cannot go there.”

“Why not? I can use my hands if you don’t trust my mouth.”

“It’s not that. I don’t want to use you for my own gratification anymore.”

“Use me, I don’t care.”

“But I do care.”

“Then let me fuck you. It’s safe if I use a condom. And to be honest I really need that. I need to feel that I deserve to be loved again.”

“I just don’t feel right about it—I can’t promise you anything more than tonight.”

Paul sat back with a huff, “Then why did you ask me over?”

Philippe reached over and caressed his cheek. “For company, my dear Paul. To have someone close to me, to talk to.”

“Well, then you should get a dog. But then, I guess I am the perfect dog. I adore you. I would do anything you want, even if that is just sitting here waiting for you to pet me.” Paul put his hands up like a dog begging, made panting noises, then barked.

“Stop it. You are being over-dramatic.” Philippe grabbed Paul’s head and pulled it to his chest, wrapping his arms around Paul. “Let us just sit here and enjoy being close.” Paul wrapped his own arms around Philippe. Philippe enjoyed the moment until the thought of Lorraine’s wonderful fireplace came to his mind. He thought, “Damn, why do my thoughts always go back to Lorraine? Philippe gently let go of Paul with one hand and reached for his wine glass. He took a long swig. “You know, this is going to be an awkward night with only me drinking.”

“Really, I don’t mind. To be honest, I’m a little high because of the painkillers they gave me. You need to get a little drunk to catch up to me.”

Philippe took another long swig and finished off the glass. He let go of Paul with both hands to pour another glass of wine. “If you insist, then. How does your job go?”

“They seem impressed with my runway walk although they have their own vision of how all the models are going to move for that particular show. It has a jungle theme.”

“Jungle theme? What are you, then?”

“I am an antelope. I wear a wonderful headdress of two long thin horns and I’ll have wonderful makeup.”

“That is perfect for you. You are delicate and graceful.”

“I wear a striking tan suit—the pants have thin tapered legs, my shirt is a crisp white cotton, tightly fitted, with long-sleeves ending in small cuffs. A short, darker brown vest is topped with a very sharp-looking jacket ending with a small sort of peplum at the waist. The material of the jacket and pants is to die for—it is a soft almost chamois-like cotton. And the shoes! Dark brown leather, wonderfully seamed, narrowing to a taper at the toe with an inch heel—just perfect for prancing across the stage.”

Philippe caressed Paul’s forehead. “You are so animated when you talk about your work. I must come see you at work—will you be able to get me a pass for the show?”

“You want to come to one of my shows? Yes, I can get a pass for you. They allow us two passes, but I think when I say who is coming they will upgrade them to VIP passes.”

“I would like that very much. You are going to be their next star model, I know it.”

“Thank you. I am not sure about that, but I do the best I can.”

“Yes, you do, always.” Philippe put his finger under Paul’s chin and guided his mouth to meet his in a soft kiss. Paul ran his hands through Philippe’s hair, then he grabbed a handful of hair on each side of Philippe’s face and pulled Philippe’s face closer to him, increasing the passion in the kiss, not letting Philippe pull away. He ran his lips to Philippe’s ear and said, “Please, fuck me, I brought condoms. I need to feel wanted.”

Philippe had not seen this more aggressive side to Paul and liked it much better. Paul pushed Philippe down on the couch and climbed on top of him. He sucked on Philippe’s neck and bit him gently, playfully. But his hands were all business as they pushed under Philippe’s shirt and stroked his chest, fingers circling his nipples, tweaking, teasing, setting Philippe’s skin on fire. Then moving to his back where the fingertips pressed into the muscles as they raked across his back. Paul’s mouth was now kissing Philippe again, his tongue slipped between Philippe’s lips. Philippe responded with his own tongue. The kissing was sending thrills through Philippe’s body. Paul unbuttoned and unzipped Philippe’s pants and pulled them down and off. He took off his own shirt and tossed it onto the floor. Paul’s pants soon followed but not before Paul had pulled a condom out of his pocket. Paul kissed Philippe again then put the condom onto his hardening cock as Philippe watched. Now Paul was prepared and returned to kissing Philippe aggressively.

The truth was, Philippe needed someone this night, too, and he felt his body responding to Paul’s new aggressiveness. No longer submissive, Paul was demanding things of Philippe’s body and was getting them. This time, when his hands found Philippe’s cock, Philippe did not push him away. Instead he arched his back and pushed his hips into Paul. By now, Paul knew exactly how to bring Philippe to satisfaction and his hands and mouth worked together to that end. Philippe felt the heat growing in his cock, the blood rushing in, the nerves catching fire. For now, that was the whole of his consciousness, that growing need that filled him. Philippe writhed under Paul, his hands went to Paul’s head and pushed. He needed more, and Paul gave it to him, until, finally, the nerves fired, his cock pulsed and expelled his seed. Philippe cried out and moaned. Paul swallowed and licked Philippe’s cock before moving up to kiss Philippe. Paul now removed Philippe’s shirt, so they could feel bare skin on bare skin.

As they kissed, Paul’s hands made their way down to cup Philippe’s buttocks, then ran along the inside of his thighs to his knees. His hands grabbed Philippe’s legs and pushed them forward, towards Philippe’s chest. His mouth left Philippe’s mouth and sucked their way down, sucked his neck, his chest, the line of hair that led to his belly and that continued down to the hair that surrounded his cock. Philippe moaned as the lips kissed his cock then sucked his balls then continued down to his hole. Philippe gasped when Paul’s finger penetrated him and gasped again when another finger joined that one. Paul worked him, prepared him, as Philippe moaned in anticipation. Paul then pushed his cock into Philippe who cried out, “Oh, god.”

Paul leaned forward, pushing Philippe’s legs almost to his chest as his lips found Philippe’s for another kiss. Paul then whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Yes, tonight I am your god and your god has no mercy for you,” as he began pushing and pulling his cock in and out of Philippe, penetrating deeper each time. All Philippe could do was moan with each escalating stroke. Paul felt the anger, the sorrow flow through him into his cock as he mercilessly pounded Philippe and finally found the release he needed so desperately. He had not heard Philippe’s moans or his cries of ecstasy because the moment was no longer about Philippe but about him, Paul. He made several last, slow thrusts into Philippe before he brought Philippe’s legs back down to the sofa and laid on top of Philippe, totally exhausted and satisfied.

Philippe ran his hands gently through Paul’s hair, not really sure what had happened. This was not at all the Paul that he had known these last four years. This was not his sweet, giving puppy, but somebody else entirely. Paul had demanded and taken his pleasure from Philippe with very little thought for Philippe’s comfort or feelings. Then Philippe understood. This is how he had treated Paul—as a vessel for his own desires. Philippe could see how even being a vessel had its rewards and he gained a new respect for the Paul who had given himself totally to Philippe. If Philippe had just had a little more compassion towards Paul, things could have been so much different. He and Paul could have had more than the tawdry sex Philippe had insisted upon. They could have had a deep, meaningful relationship where both parties benefited and found happiness.

Philippe shed a few tears for what could have been and hated himself even more. They could still have that relationship. Philippe knew Paul wanted nothing else. But Philippe knew he couldn’t give Paul what he needed. For Philippe, all Paul would ever be was a replacement for his Chevalier. Even though Philippe knew he had something solid and real with Paul, Philippe would throw everything away for just the chance that Lorraine might give him what he needed. And he knew that it was very likely he would never find what he so desperately needed.

Philippe’s thoughts were interrupted by Paul’s soft voice, “A penny for your thoughts right now, love.”

Philippe stammered, “Thoughts? I wasn’t thinking of anything at all. Just enjoying the after effects of our love making,” Philippe lied, again. He would be forever lying to Paul, he knew that.

“Oh, come now. I know you and you were deep in thought. Please tell me you were thinking about us, about me.” Paul’s voice became pleading, needy again.

“Of course, I was thinking about you. About how you have surprised me tonight.”

“Is it enough?”

“Enough? What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

“Me, the passion I showed you. Is it enough for you to forget Lorraine?”

Philippe could not answer—not truthfully—and did not know what to say.

“Forget it. Your hesitation tells me everything. I will never be enough for you.”

“Paul, I. . . I am so sorry. You amazed me tonight and I am very tempted by this thing you and I could have. . .really.”

“I do not know what hold Lorraine has over you, but I know I cannot break it.”

Philippe could hear the heartbreak in Paul’s voice. If only he could explain. “Paul, I wish I could explain but you would think I was crazy.”

“Does it have anything to do with your belief you were reincarnated?”

Could he possibly explain it to Paul? Would Paul even believe him?

“Do you think I am crazy for believing I am the reincarnated Philippe duc d’Orleans?”

“I don’t know. I guess I always thought it was just part of your act. Do you really believe it?”

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I have had dreams of my life as Philippe duc d’Orleans. Many, many dreams.”

“Dreams? You are basing this belief on dreams?”

“Paul, I am not the only one to have these dreams.”

“Lorraine has had these dreams, too?”

“No, not Lorraine.”

“Then who? Could I have these dreams?”

“No, you couldn’t because you were not part of Versailles.”

“I don’t understand. You are not making sense.”

“You know that the duc d’Orleans was the younger brother of Louis XIV, don’t you?”

“Yes, I sort of remember that from school, before I dropped out—and from you talking.”

“This is going to sound crazy, but this person who recently came into my life as my lost brother was also my brother at Versailles.”

“You mean that guy, the mayor of…where was it? I forget. The one who hired the detective to find you?”

“Yes, his name is Louis and he is the mayor of Rouen. And he has had these dreams, too. We both know now that he was Louis XIV and has been reincarnated, too.”

Paul was very quiet for a long time before answering, “Philippe, are you sure your drug use hasn’t, well, addled your brain some?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I’m sorry, but it is just too bizarre. So, I am going to lose you over some drug-induced misconception you have.” Philippe could feel the absolute pain in Paul’s voice.

“Maybe one day you will understand. But I cannot love you properly if I am in love with someone else. It is not fair to you.”

“No, nothing is ever fair to me. I should just get used to it.” Paul sat up. “I think I would like to sleep now. My body is aching, and I need to take some more medication.”

“Did our love making hurt you?”

“No, I did not feel any pain during, but the medications are wearing off and I am feeling the pain, now. You can call a car for me if you want.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“No, I want to spend this last night with you, holding you as we sleep. If that is what you want, too.”

“Yes, I want that. Then let’s go to bed. Do you have your medications with you?”

“Yes, I had hoped I would get to spend the night.”

“Then get some water and take them and let’s go to bed.”

Paul dug through the pile of clothes and found his medication. He got some water in the kitchen and took the pills. He thought, “Now, if there was only something to make this heartache go away.”

He went to the bedroom where Philippe was waiting for him. Philippe gently pushed Paul onto the bed then crawled in next to him. He curled up around Paul holding him tight. He whispered in his ear, “Paul, we must sleep now,” and promptly fell asleep, leaving Paul wide awake and brooding until his medication kicked in and relaxed him enough for sleep to overtake him.

 


	16. Unexpected Outcomes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine invites Philippe to a party as his plus one that Lorraine knows Paul is attending but doesn't tell Philippe. When Philippe finds out Paul is at the party he is afraid his showing up so soon with Lorraine could devastate Paul. Lorraine and Philippe discuss their expectations for the possible relationship they are starting. Lorraine admits he does not believe in love or a lasting relationship while Philippe admits he can be moody and abusive. Neither expect the relationship to last. Paul has unexpected news to tell Philippe that is both exciting and sad. Lorraine is afraid he is losing control in the relationship between him and Philippe.

The next morning, Philippe and Paul were curled up together sleeping, when Philippe’s ringtone on his phone went off. Philippe ignored it until it stopped, but then it started again.  Sleepily he reached over to grab the phone to see who was calling so insistently. It was Lorraine. He answered groggily, “Hello.”

“Aw, Philippe, did I wake you?” Philippe’s answer was garbled by sleep. “Anyway, I am calling to let you know I have some clothes ready for you to pick up and I have some good news that I would like to tell you in person. May I send a car to pick you up?”

“Not right now, later in the day.”

“Yes, you must get your beauty sleep, mustn’t you? How about eleven, later this morning? We can then have some lunch together.”

“Ok, I’ll be ready at eleven.”

“Good. And I am so sorry to have disturbed your sleep!” He hung up.

Philippe scowled at the phone to see what time it was. 8:30 am. Damn that Lorraine. He shook Paul gently, “Paul, what time do you need to be up?”

Paul roused himself and answered, “They told me to come in at noon today.”

“I have to leave at eleven, so we can sleep a couple more hours.” He set the alarm on his phone to go off in two hours and fell back asleep. At 10:30 the alarm went off and Philippe dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. When he got out he walked back into the bedroom drying himself with the towel.

“Paul, if you want a shower before you leave, go take it now. I have to leave in a few minutes, but I will call you a car for 11:30.” Philippe dressed and combed his wet hair pressing with the towel to soak up some of the water. Paul was still in bed, so Philippe went over and shook him. “I’m leaving now. Your car will be here at 11:30. Please lock the door on your way out.”

Then Philippe went out to wait for the car. When they arrived at the House of Lorraine, Philippe went in to find Lorraine waiting for him.

“Wait until you see the things I have picked out for you. I took the liberty of having them fitted to your measurements.”

“What if I don’t like them.”

“Oh, but I think you will. Come.” Lorraine led him into one of the private viewing rooms. “Perhaps you would like something to drink? Coffee, champagne?”

“Coffee, black.”

“No champagne? You must have had an interesting night.”

“It was nothing special,” answered Philippe with a twinge of guilt.

A silver decanter of coffee was brought in with cups and set on the table in front of the two of them. Lorraine poured a cup for Philippe. “Bring in the first one.” He told his assistant.

A male model came in, tall and thin with dark hair. He was wearing a pair of black jeans with cuffed pants legs and a button-down shirt in a dark maroon, with a trim of black on cuffs, pocket and collar.

Philippe’s reaction was, “Not bad.”

The rest of the six outfits presented were various styles of jeans with either button-down shirts or interestingly cut and sewn tee shirts. One outfit sported a bold vest and one had a waist-length, jeans-style jacket in black denim with red leather piping in certain seams.

Philippe was impressed with them, but only said, “Not bad. I think they’ll do as long as the price isn’t exorbitant.”

“You get the same discount as before. Here is a tally of the costs.”

He handed the tally to Philippe who looked at it. “Very acceptable. Charge it to my record company account. And what about something to go out in? To say, a charity event or a society party?”

Lorraine motioned to his assistant who brought out a book of evening wear with a casual flair. Lorraine flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. “I was thinking something like this, but more simplified—take that out, and this—then make the jacket and pants in a heavier-weight dark blue brocade with black leather and touches of red.”

“Yes, I like that. Do you have maybe two more?”

Lorraine showed two more to Philippe explaining the changes he would make to personalize it to Philippe.

“Now, shall we go get some lunch, so I can tell you the exciting news I have? I’ve made reservations at The Soup House. They have excellent lunch fare.”

Soon, they were seated in a private room with menus. “Some wine with lunch or have you given it up?” Lorraine asked.

“Wine would be good now that I have woken up.”

Lorraine ordered the wine and they made their meal selections.

“You said you had some exciting news to tell me.” Philippe stated.

“Yes! Last night I went out with that good friend and designer I had told you about. We’ve been friends for years—used to be lovers but we were too much alike and agreed we made better friends. The man loves to flirt more than I do, if you can imagine that.”

Philippe tried not to show any emotion or that he was aware who Lorraine had been with the night before.

“Anyway, I talked to him about hiring that friend of yours, Paul. The one who went through that unfortunate trauma. As it turns out, he had Paul’s photo and was already interested in him. It didn’t take much to convince him to hire Paul. He will be calling Paul today to make him an offer. The sooner he is away from those scoundrels the better.”

Philippe was surprised and felt very guilty. Fabien had tried to tell him not to jump to conclusions, but of course he had automatically assumed Lorraine was with another lover.

“You are quiet. Is there something wrong?”

“No, I am just honored by your thoughtfulness and thinking how much this will mean to Paul.”

“I hope you have made up after your fight. Good friends should never stay angry at each other.”

“Yes, we have talked, and things are good between us.” Philippe knew that Lorraine was aware he and Paul were more than good friends.

“Not too good, I hope,” Lorraine quipped and laughed. “I know you two have been together a long time and I would be a fool to believe that you could just end things so abruptly. I just ask that you remember our night together and give me a fair chance at you occasionally.”

Lorraine reached over and stroked Philippe’s face.

Philippe was unsure how to answer. “Our night together was very special to me, too. But I need more than an occasional good night. I am not used to being alone and my flat is empty without Paul and my other friends. Your days are spent working around a ton of people and nights are spent socializing. It is not the same for me. I work alone in my flat on my new album. With Paul as my companion, I had planned on getting out and socializing more, but I don’t fancy socializing alone.”

“Then, may I remedy that and invite you to join me tonight? I currently have a group of hangers on, but no real companion. I can send a car to pick you up at eight. You cannot say you have no clothes to wear now!”

Philippe felt his heart beating faster. He should feel guilty for what he did with Paul last night, but he didn’t. They had needed that for a proper closure—or at least he had. He wasn’t so sure about Paul, but Paul had seemed to accept that it was over between the two of them. Last night’s closure with Paul was needed so Philippe could proceed with Lorraine with a clear conscience. A part of him knew he should play hard to get—to make Lorraine want _him_. Still he found himself agreeing to be ready at eight.

At eight Philippe was getting into Lorraine’s car. Lorraine was inside and slid over to Philippe’s side to give him a long, intense kiss. “You look very good, tonight.”

“I should, I’m wearing your clothes.”

“And you wear them well. Did you have a good afternoon?”

“Yes, I added a new melody to my list. It was nice to have something to look forward to tonight. It made my work seem to flow better.”

“Take off your work hat and put on your party hat. Would you like some champagne?”

Lorraine didn’t wait for an answer and poured two glasses handing the first to Philippe.

“Did your friend, Paul, call you? He was supposed to find out today about his new job.”

“No, I didn’t hear from him. I am so grateful that you arranged that for him. He really needed that break. Thank you.”

Lorraine answered, “Paul deserves something good to happen in his life. As for us, there is something we should discuss before we let whatever this is we have get too far. I imagine you know my reputation. I have had a lot of lovers—or maybe I should say, long-term sexual partners. I am a pragmatist and just don’t believe in love. Yes, there are a few people who have a real love that lasts, but they are the exception. It’s exciting getting to know someone, but after a while, it all gets boring. I hope you and I can enjoy whatever this is while it lasts, then be adults when it begins to fade.”

“Yes, I am very aware of your reputation. I do not presume that I will change you. You also know _my_ reputation. Paul is the closest thing to love I have had in this life, and I will be the first to admit I treated him terribly, but that is just me.”

“I just want to be honest with you. I cannot change who I am.”

“Nor can I change who I am.”

“Well, enough of that, then. Here, have some more champagne. We are almost at the party. It is being hosted by that friend who hired Paul. I guess I should have told you that earlier. There is a good chance your Paul will be there. That won’t cause a problem, will it?” Lorraine dropped this bombshell so nonchalantly.

At that moment Philippe wanted to strangle Lorraine. What kind of game was Lorraine playing? Philippe was very tempted to tell Lorraine he had changed his mind and wanted to go home.

“You know you are putting me in a very difficult situation. What are you up to? One minute you act like you are concerned for Paul’s welfare then you put me in this situation where my arrival with you will devastate him.”

“I did not realize you two were still that close. I guess I assumed you had told him about the two of us. I am sorry. If you don’t want to go, I will understand. My driver can take you home after he drops me off. I just thought you had made your mind up to be with me.”

Philippe tried to read Lorraine. Was he being genuine or was this a charade? Yes, he wanted to be with Lorraine. There was no future for Paul and him as long as he saw a possibility to find his Chevalier in Lorraine. Philippe was going forward, and he hoped Paul could go forward, too, now that he had that new job. But Paul was in a very vulnerable state of mind right now.

“I do want to be with you, but I don’t want to hurt Paul more than he has already been hurt.”

“Paul will never be able to stand on his own two feet if you keep coddling him. You have to let him go at some point.”

“Yes. You are right. I just don’t know if tonight is the night to do that.”

“Look, I wanted to walk into the party and flaunt you to everyone, but we can make a less dramatic entrance. I won’t hold your arm or show how much I adore you. We can enter as friends and you can find time to talk to Paul and explain things. Would that work for you?”

Philippe was surprised at Lorraine’s willingness to help. Everything Lorraine said was true, but Lorraine did not know he and Paul had sex last night. It seemed particularly cruel to Paul to show up at this party with Lorraine. He knew he should not have accepted this date with Lorraine. If he had a chance to talk to Paul, then maybe he could explain and avoid a scene that might mess everything up.

“Yes, that would be a good solution. Thank you for being so understanding.”

Lorraine reached over and gave Philippe a long, intense kiss. “Had to get that in before we exited the car. Needed something to tide me over for a while.” Philippe was skeptical of Lorraine’s sincerity but gave in to the kiss. Lorraine’s kiss did wake up certain desires in him.

Minutes later, they pulled up to the party home. As promised, Lorraine kept his hands away from Philippe and they walked into the party with a decent amount of space between them. Enough space that set everyone to whispering and speculating. Once inside, Lorraine introduced Philippe as his new business partner and chattered on about their future business collaborations.

Philippe searched the crowd for Paul and finally saw him standing next to the man he had seen Lorraine with at the pub. Paul was looking directly at him with a puzzled look on his face. Philippe thought to himself, “Well, puzzled is a good look. Better than devastation” then decided the sooner he talked to Paul the better. He turned to Lorraine and said, “Excuse me for a moment. There is an old friend I’d like to talk to.” Lorraine nodded knowingly in dismissal and turned back to continue his conversation.

Philippe made his way over to Paul and asked, “Can we talk? Maybe over there where it isn’t so crowded.”

Paul agreed and followed Philippe to a quiet corner. Paul was the first to talk, “Philippe! I have wanted to call you but haven’t had the time. I have a new job! That’s my new boss over there, Anton Gaspiere of the Gaspiere Agency. He offered me a lot more money and the best news is that we are going to be going to New York City to introduce his new line in a fashion show there! He plans to have shows all over the world and I will be a part of them!”

Philippe was very surprised at the news and very happy for Paul. “Paul, that is just amazing! See, I knew you were going to do well. How could you not, with that gorgeous face and body of yours!”

Before he could react, Paul had reached out, grabbed Philippe’s face and given him a good long, kiss. “I could not have done it without your encouragement and support. The only sad part of this is that it means things are really over for us, isn’t it?”

“It is hard to have a long-distance relationship and you will be meeting so many new people.”

“I know Lorraine arranged this to get me out of the way. It is still a great opportunity and I mean to make the most of it. Also, I was contacted by a representative of the Mayor of Rouen who says they are going to advocate for my case. They told me there was recorded evidence of everything those people did. The idiots put everything on Facebook, can you believe that? There is more than enough evidence to convict them.”

Philippe was even more surprised. So much good was happening for Paul after the trauma he had gone through. He was glad that Paul was taking everything so well.  “Good, those people need to pay for what they did, and it is about time people stood up for our rights.”

“The Mayor is your brother, isn’t he? And you knew about this.”

“Yes, he is my brother and I did contact him about supporting you. He is conservative and not at all comfortable with my life style, so I wasn’t sure if he’d take this on. I didn’t want to tell you and get your hopes up until I knew more.”

“Philippe, you have done so much for me. I wish we could have another night together since we have no idea how long it will be before we see each other again. I know we said goodbye last night, but this seems so permanent. But, another night together is not possible because I won’t have time. I know you have moved on to Lorraine, but I need to warn you to be careful. I am sure you know his reputation and I would hate to see you hurt by him. When you love, you give your whole heart, and I fear he will crush it. Can we have one more kiss?”

Philippe said, “Of course, my dear Paul. Promise that you will keep in touch with me. Email me, text me, call me. Send me pictures—especially when you find that someone special. You deserve the best—someone who doesn’t use you like I did.” Philippe stepped closer to Paul. They embraced and kissed a long deep, goodbye kiss. Neither cared that just about everyone at the party was watching and whispering. Philippe ran his hand down Paul’s face and said softly, “Goodbye, my dear Paul.” Tears welled in his eyes and he tried to fight them back, but they rolled down his face anyway. He cried for the opportunity he had missed with Paul. He cried because he hated himself so much at this moment. And there was happiness for Paul in the tears, too.

“Goodbye, Philippe, my love. I will never forget you. I will keep in touch when I can.” It was Paul who walked away first.

Philippe stood in the corner, trying to compose himself before joining Lorraine. He had come into the party expecting some emotional drama from Paul and yet it was he who was the emotional one causing all the drama, not Paul. A part of him wanted to forget the party and go home. But home, now, was just a very empty flat. He couldn’t face that. Instead, he knew he would have to ignore the stares and whispers and rejoin Lorraine to endure the rest of the party. After all, he had given up Paul, so he could be with Lorraine. He hoped he didn’t live to regret that.

When he reached Lorraine, Lorraine put a comforting arm around him and whispered, “It will be okay. You will see,” then withdrew his arm. Lorraine got the attention of a waiter who came over with a tray of glasses with champagne in them. Lorraine took two and handed one to Philippe. “To better days, my friend.” Philippe drank his down quickly and got another. That helped dull the pain enough to face the crowd of Lorraine’s many admirers. He had forgotten how much he hated all this drivel. He tried to put on a smile, so he wouldn’t disappoint Lorraine. The last thing he wanted was for Lorraine to decide he was too moody for him. But then again, he probably was.

After a bit, Gaspiere called for everyone’s attention. The crowd quieted and turned their attention to Gaspiere and the handsome young blonde man standing next to him. “I would like to introduce you all to my next star model, Paul Delico. He will be the ‘face’ of my new world campaign and his first show will be in New York City.”

The crowd applauded loudly amidst murmurs and whispers about the earlier display of affection between Paul and Philippe. Speculation ran wild about the relationship between Paul, Philippe and Lorraine, most of it totally off the mark. Lorraine put a comforting hand on Philippe’s shoulder. A toast was made, and people flocked around Gaspiere and Paul to congratulate them.

Lorraine told Philippe, “Shall we make our exit now? I don’t think you are much in the party mood, anymore.”

Philippe answered, “Yes, thank you. This has turned out way different than I thought.”

Lorraine reached out to push Philippe’s hair from his ear, then whispered into it, “When we get to my house, I will help you forget.” Lorraine then nibbled Philippe’s ear lobe. He took Philippe’s hand and they walked out of the party while all the attention was on Gaspiere and Paul.

In the car, Philippe said, “I didn’t expect that at all. I was afraid he was going to be upset that I was with you so soon after we talked. If I had any decency, I would have waited at least a few days before being seen in public with you.”

Lorraine answered, “But isn’t this a better result? He is happy. Don’t you like him to be happy?”

Philippe sighed, “Yes, I want him to be happy. I guess I just wanted more time to say goodbye. Not to have to say goodbye in front of all those people. Not like that.”

Lorraine thought for a moment then said, “Perhaps I misjudged the depth of your affection for Paul. Is this going to affect the relationship we are starting?”

Philippe felt the thinly veiled threat in that statement and quickly answered, “No, it is just hard to say goodbye to someone who has been your whole world for four years. There is never an easy way to say goodbye. And I certainly don’t want to put our relationship in jeopardy.”

Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine urgently pushing him down onto the seat of the car. “I want you more than I have ever wanted anybody else,” and kissed him again. Philippe then pulled Lorraine back up to a sitting position. “That is just a sample of what I have for you tonight.”

When they arrived at Lorraine’s, Lorraine opened a bottle of wine and joined Philippe on the couch with the bottle and two glasses. But they never got to drink the wine. Philippe made love to Lorraine with a gentleness and desire that Lorraine had never experienced. Lorraine knew all about sex, he’d had plenty of it over the years. But this was something so different, so alien to him. Lorraine knew he wasn’t in love with Philippe, but he felt the love Philippe had for him. He didn’t know where that love came from, but it was love, none-the-less. That love was a key that unlocked a small part of Lorraine’s heart—a few blocks of wall came tumbling down.

As they lay entwined in each other’s arms after the love-making, Lorraine thought of this new loving he had experienced. He felt Philippe’s soft breath on his chest and felt a sense of satisfaction he had never known with anyone else. Yes, he knew sexual gratification. But that was about how _he_ felt, how well _he_ made someone else find release. It was about _his_ performance and, in return, he expected the same _performance_ out of the partner. But for Philippe, it had not been about performance, but about a shared experience. It had been about finding what made the other partner happy, and fulfilling their desires and their needs and, in so doing, fulfilling your own. It had been all about how the two of them meshed, how they achieved satisfaction together. There was no set formula to it. It was a journey of discovery. Lorraine was confused; he was worried. He felt the ground crumbling underneath him. He was losing control and he _NEVER_ lost control. He finally closed his eyes and drifted off into a dream.


	17. Murderous Intent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine has a Versailles dream, but not a good one. Philippe and Fabien are injured in an attempt on Philippe's life. The police suspect Paul but Philippe cannot believe Paul would risk all the good he has gained for revenge.

A cry from Lorraine woke Philippe from his sleep. Lorraine was thrashing about, waving his arms wildly and had broken free from the arms Philippe had wrapped around him.

“Wake up, you’re having a bad dream,” Philippe shouted at Lorraine as he tried to wrap his arms around Lorraine again in an effort soothe him. All he got for his troubles was a slap in the face as Lorraine tossed about in the bed.

Philippe resorted to shaking Lorraine. Finally, Lorraine opened his eyes and, after a few moments of panic, settled down. “You were dreaming, ”Philippe said softly. “It’s okay now, you’re with me.” Philippe stroked Lorraine’s face.

“It was awful!”

“My dear, what was awful?”

“I was in chains in some old jail. I had been beaten and left barefoot on a cold dirt floor. I was shown a declaration that I was to be drawn and quartered. I was cold, terribly cold. There were maggots in the food. I don’t know where I was, but it was just terrifying!” 

Lorraine was still shaking, so Philippe put his arms around him and tried to soothe him. “It was just a dream. You are fine, now.”

“It was so real. I’ve never felt terror like that in my life.”

Philippe held on to Lorraine and thought to himself, “My god, he just had a Versailles dream! But why did he have that one? This is not good at all.”

Lorraine finally settled down but said, “I am afraid to go back to sleep.”

“If you don’t, you’ll be very tired at work. We still have several hours before we must get up. Is there anything I can get you? Warm milk or a glass of wine to settle your nerves?”

“There is that opened bottle of wine by the fireplace. We never drank any of it. It will be hot, so maybe put some ice in it. I just need something to relax me.”

Philippe said, “Okay, you wait here, and I’ll be back.”

Philippe got out of bed. In the kitchen, he hunted around until he found an ice bucket and put some ice in it. He retrieved the open wine bottle and the two glasses and brought it all to the bedroom. Philippe poured some hot wine into one of the glasses then added a few ice cubes to cool it down. He offered the glass to Lorraine.

Lorraine took the iced wine Philippe offered him and drank it. “It is blasphemous to drink wine this way, but I think cold flat wine is better than hot flat wine.” Lorraine downed two glasses before he decided that was enough.

“Philippe I must say that you surprise me. Just now, you were so gentle and tender. But last night, you were passionate and forceful. You demanded things of me no one has before. You are the most interesting lover I have ever had.” Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe tenderly. “I think I am ready to try sleep again. Please put your arms around me and make me feel safe again.”

They curled up together and were both soon asleep again.

When the alarm went off, they got up and entered the shower together. As the warm water flooded over their bodies, they lathered and washed each other. Lorraine pushed Philippe against the shower wall and kissed him, whispering in his ear, “This is for keeping me safe last night.” He kissed Philippe’s neck, his chest, his belly and went to his knees. His hands wrapped around Philippe’s cock, so his tongue could tease it to attention. Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s lips slid over his cock. Lorraine worked quickly and efficiently, bringing Philippe to orgasm.

Soon they were dressed and in the car on their way to their respective destinations. Lorraine asked, “I don’t have any events or plans for tonight. Would you like to come over and have some dinner and engage in a little sexual recreation with me? I’d like you to stay the night, if you want.”

“I could think of nothing better to do.”

“I’ll text you when I am done at work, probably around seven. I’ll send the car for you. I’ll be thinking of you all day.”

“No, I am the one with the memory that will be with me all day. I rather like taking showers, now.”

They kissed when the car pulled up to the House of Lorraine. “Remember, I’ll text you around seven.”

Philippe’s thoughts were on all the events that had happened the night before. It had been one hell of a night, but things had turned out so much better than he had expected. Except for that dream Lorraine had. Why did it have to be of a terrible event like that? He wanted Lorraine to have dreams about all the good things—like the love he and the Chevalier had shared since they had been teenagers.  

The car pulled up to his building and he got out, still thinking about Lorraine. As he approached the door to his flat, he stopped cold. “You will pay,” was spray painted across his door in red paint. Who on earth would do such a thing? He pulled out his phone and immediately called Fabien and explained what he saw.

“Do not touch the door! Stay right there. No, on second thought, go outside and wait for me. There may be someone lurking in the building. Stay close to the building so your back is protected. I’m on my way.”

Philippe did as he was told and stood outside the apartment building by the entrance with his back against the building, watching warily for anyone approaching. Finally, he saw Fabien’s car pull into the parking lot and walked across the lawn to greet him. He stepped off the sidewalk into the parking lot as Fabien was getting out of his car. He was about to say, “Hello!” when he heard the revving of an engine and turned to see a car barreling toward him. He stood frozen in place, realizing the car was almost upon him. He heard Fabien’s shout and felt himself being pushed violently. The push knocked him backwards towards the sidewalk. He lost his footing and fell, hitting his head on the curb. At the same time his head hit, he heard a stomach-wrenching thud, someone cry out loudly in pain, and the squeal of tires on asphalt.

As he lay there fighting for consciousness he heard shouts of “Someone call an ambulance!” Another voice said, “We need two!” Philippe was struggling to get up, but his eyes refused to focus, and he was very dizzy. A voice said, “Be still. You are hurt. An ambulance will be here soon.”                  

Philippe managed to ask, “My friend, is he hurt?”

The voice answered, “Yes, the car hit him, but he is still alive. You be still now. Medics are on the way.”

Then Philippe blacked out.

When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed. Lorraine was standing over him, a worried look on his face. Philippe’s head hurt like hell. The room was spinning around. He closed his eyes to make it stop.

“Oh, thank god! You are awake!” The relief on Lorraine’s face was evident.

Philippe tried to raise his head, but dizziness made him stop. He heard Lorraine calling for the doctor. He felt Lorraine take his hand and heard him say, “Just lie still. You hit your head and have a bad concussion. The doctor will be here in a minute to check you out. Your brother is also on the way from Rouen.”

Then he heard someone enter the room and a female voice say, “Hi, I’m Dr. Masson. You have a bad concussion, but you are going to be just fine after a little rest and recuperation.”

“My friend, how is he?”

“I don’t know. I did not treat him, but I can send someone to find out and let you know. My shift is ending, and another doctor will be taking over. I just want to check you out before I leave. If you could open your eyes for a moment.”

Philippe complied and saw a bright light shining in first one eye, then the other. “Your pupils look good.”

Again, he closed his eyes to stop the room from spinning. He felt something in one ear, then the other, next a tap on his knee. When he felt her hands touch the side of his head, he let out an involuntary cry because of the pain.

“Yes, you have a good knot on the side of your head, but that will subside over time. We did a head CT and it looked normal except for a little expected swelling. We’ll probably keep you at least overnight for observation. Depending on how you are doing tomorrow, you may be able to go home. If you feel up to it, the police want to ask you some questions. I can make them wait if you want, though.”

“Yes, I’ll talk to them but there isn’t much I can say.”

“I will tell them they can come in for ten minutes only. You just relax. If you are dizzy, don’t try to open your eyes.”

Philippe heard her leave. Lorraine said, “I hope they catch whoever did this to you.”

Then he heard footsteps and people approaching his bed.

“Mr. Orleans, I am Detective Ballon, this is my partner Detective Grue. We’d like to ask you some questions, if you are up to it.”

“I’ll tell you what I can, but I don’t really know much.”

“Just answer what you can. Did you see the car that hit you?”

“Yes, briefly.”

“Can you describe it?”

“No, it was just a blur.”

“Can you give us a make, model or color? Was it a sedan, an SUV, or a truck?”

“Uh, it was a car, not a truck or SUV. I’m pretty sure of that. I can’t remember the color or what kind it was. It wasn’t a very large car.”

“Good, that helps. Do you have any idea who would want to hurt you?”

“No. Well, there was an incident recently where I was falsely accused of rape, but they found the real rapist and my name was cleared.”

“Yes, we have that on record. Did you just end a long-term relationship with a guy named Paul Delico?”

“Yes, but it was an amicable parting. Paul doesn’t even have a car.”

“We believe the car used was stolen. One was stolen not too far from there just a short time before the incident.”

“But still, Paul wouldn’t do something like this. He has a new job and a great future. We talked last night, and things were good between us.”

“But you left that party with Mr. Lorraine here and spent the night with him. Wouldn’t that cause jealousy on Mr. Delico’s part?”

“No, Paul knew I was with Mr. Lorraine. He gave his blessing since he will be going overseas with his new job. We knew a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work.”

“Wasn’t Mr. Delico attacked at his job recently because he refused to go out with a co-worker because of his relationship with you?”

“Yes, he was attacked, but I don’t think that was the reason. That’s not what he told me.”

“Oh, so that is not what he told you. Ok. Is it true that, not too long ago, you had several other young men living with you and you made them all leave except for Mr. Delico, then later you made Mr. Delico move out?”

“Yes, I wanted to change my lifestyle and thought it was best for all of us that they leave. I provided hotel rooms for two weeks for those others.”

“But not Mr. Delico?”

“Well, we had an argument and he left to go stay with a friend. But we reconciled after that.”

“Is there anything you can add or that you want to tell us about this attack?”

“No, there is nothing else I can think of.”

“Thank you for your time. We wish you a quick recovery. If there is anything else you need to add, I am leaving my card on your bedside table.”

Philippe heard them leave and heard Lorraine say, “Hmm. Looks like they suspect Paul for this for some reason.”

“He wouldn’t do this. He has no reason to do this.”

“Do you think any of those people involved with Paul’s assault did this? Or friends of that rape victim?”

“I don’t think friends of the rape victim would do this. My name was cleared, and my brother and I ensured the real rapists were revealed. If anything, they should be grateful to me. I do not know about the people involved with Paul’s assault. They could hold a grudge.”

“What about that club owner? The one who was going to try and blackmail me?”

“Yes, it could be him. He is just the type of scum who would do this. There are so many possible suspects, I do not know why they only asked about Paul. I wish someone would tell me how Fabien is!”

“I tried to check for you, but they wouldn’t release any information since I am not family. What exactly is your relationship with this Fabien?”

“He has proven to be an excellent investigator and a good friend. He is going to be head of my security. I plan on making it official as soon as I can talk to my agency.”

“It may be a while before he is well enough to do that.”

“I want to pay for all his hospital bills. If he had not pushed me out of the way, I would’ve been the one hit by the car. I now owe him my life.”

Philippe then heard someone rush into the room and felt someone take his hand.

“Who is there?”

“Brother, can you not see?”

“Oh, Louis. The room spins when I open my eyes, so I keep them closed.”

“That lump on the side of your head looks very painful. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I came home to find someone had spray painted ‘You will pay’ on my door. I immediately called Fabien and he told me to meet him outside. He pulled into the parking lot and I went to meet him. As I stepped into the parking lot, a car came at me and, if Fabien had not pushed me out of the way, I would have been more seriously hurt or even killed. Someone told me the car hit Fabien, but no one will tell me how he is.”

“Wait here, I will go get someone to talk to you about Fabien.”

Philippe heard Louis’s footsteps walk away.

Lorraine said, “He sure has an air of command about him, doesn’t he? Is it true he has plans on running for president?”

“Yes, that is his goal, but it will take a lot of work to get there. I don’t doubt that he will do it, though.”

“Yes, I imagine he will. Here he comes back with a nurse.”

Philippe heard the footsteps enter the room and approach his bed. “Philippe, I have brought a nurse who will tell you about Mr. Marchal.”

“Sir, normally I wouldn’t do this, but considering that the man saved your life, I feel, an exception can be made. Overall, Mr. Marchal is very lucky. The car just gave him a glancing blow. He has extensive bruising on his right side. He broke three fingers on his left hand, we think suffered when he hit the pavement. He, too, has a concussion and they are watching his kidney, gall bladder and liver—they were all bruised, but so far are functioning well and not bleeding. He has a substantial scrape on the left side of his face suffered when he hit the pavement. They had to remove some embedded gravel, but it should heal without too much scarring. As I said, he is a lucky man and a good friend to you for pushing you out of the way.”

“Thank you so much for giving me that information. It pains me to know he is hurt, but I am glad it was not worse. Now I can stop worrying so much.”

“You’re very welcome.” Philippe heard her soft steps as she left.

“Louis, can you contact my agency and tell them I want them to hire Mr. Marchal immediately as my head of security. No, tell them to make it retroactive to the beginning of the pay period so he will get his first paycheck sooner. He has been helping me and I want him paid. I expect them to pay his entire hospital bill. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, brother, consider it done. How are you feeling?”

“As I said, dizzy, and I have a bad headache.”

“Can’t they give you something for the pain?”

Lorraine interjected, “I asked and was told the best thing was to give him acetaminophen. Narcotics are not good for a concussion as they interfere with the doctor’s ability to assess the progress of the patient.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lorraine. It is good that he has friends here in Paris. His previous so-called friends were of dubious character. I hear the police are looking into that boy, Paul, as a suspect.”

Philippe answered angrily, “Paul is not a boy and he did not do it. He would not hurt me.”

“Calm down, Philippe, I am merely relaying what I have been told. I had heard that you and Paul had a big argument and you kicked him out.”

“Yes, we did, but we reconciled night before last. He has a new modeling job with excellent prospects. He would not risk all that.”

Since Philippe’s eyes were closed, he did not notice Lorraine raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you mean last night?”

“No, it was the night before. We uh. Oh. I think I am confused. You are right. Yes, it was at the party last night. Everyone at the party saw us.”

Lorraine said, “Yes, it was quite touching. They kissed and hugged in front of everyone.” Lorraine could see the muscle in Louis’s jaw tighten, so he continued. “They were quite the talk of the party. You know how people like to twitter on about such things.”

A nurse came in and said, “Mr. Orleans needs some rest. You should all probably leave now. Rest is important in his recovery.”

Philippe spoke up, “Louis, if you are staying in Paris overnight, you are welcome to stay in my flat.”

“Thank you, Philippe, but I have already made other arrangements. I think maybe the police have your flat sealed for an evidence search because of the painting on the door. I will take care of things for you and will be back later tonight.”

Lorraine spoke up, “Yes, I, too must get to work. I will be back tonight, also. Do not worry. The police will root out the truth and, if your Paul is innocent, they will clear him and find the real culprit. Now rest. I want you to have a quick recovery. I will miss you until you do.” Lorraine bent and gently kissed Philippe, whispering in his ear, “I owe you a shower, don’t forget,” then left.

Louis said, “I do not know what you see in that man, but I am not surprised he has insinuated himself back into your life.”

“He does not remember.”

“Say again?”

“He does not remember Versailles. He does not remember our love.”

“But I assumed the two of you were together again.”

“We are having to begin all over again. I fear he will never remember the deep love we had and that he will grow tired of me and move on. He is not the Chevalier of Versailles.”

“Well. I know that must be hard for you, but maybe it is for the best.”

“Please, brother. I do not want to talk about it now. I am tired. Please leave.”

Louis took Philippe’s hand and squeezed it. “Rest now. I am leaving.”

Philippe heard Louis’s footsteps leave the room and fade away down the hall. It was ironic how his brother had vexed him in their past life and continued to do so today, even though they had only just reunited. If only he and the Chevalier could pick up where they left off so easily. He worried that he would lose the progress he had made with Lorraine if he stayed in the hospital too long. He lay there worrying about things until he finally drifted off to sleep. The last question he asked himself was, “Is Paul so jealous he would risk everything he had gained for revenge? If he had, why would he hurt me?” Logic told him if it had been Paul, he would have gone after Lorraine, not him. Unless he had hurt Paul deeper than he had thought. He certainly hoped his relationship with Lorraine would be worth all the sacrifices he was making.


	18. Losing Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The car used to attack Philippe and Fabien has been found abandoned with a knit cap inside with blond hairs. The police arrest Paul. Fabien is recuperating and will be released in a few days. He is anxious to start his investigation into the attack. Philippe is released from the hospital but there are restrictions on what he can do. Restrictions he doesn't want to follow. Lorraine insists Philippe stay with him while he heals. When the DNA tests come back, the hairs in the hat are Paul's. Philippe goes to visit Paul in jail to find out why he did it. Paul insists on his innocence. Philippe vows to post bail and help Paul prove his innocence. Lorraine has another dream, this time about Philippe's marriage to Liselotte and the consummation of that marriage. Lorraine wakes up feeling emotions he does not like. He knows he will tire of Philippe eventually but worries that it will devastate Philippe when he inevitably leaves him.

As promised, Louis returned to the hospital to visit Philippe at about six. Louis stopped at the door and looked in to see Philippe with his eyes closed. He went in and walked to the bed. He was about to speak, when Philippe opened his eyes and looked at him. “Oh, it is you, brother.”

“Yes, I have come to bring you news. It is good to see your eyes are open.”

“The room no longer spins when I open my eyes, but I still have a tremendous headache. What is this news you have?”

“First, I talked to your agency and Marchal has been hired as you requested.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that. There is more?”

“The police have found the car that hit you both, abandoned.”

“And, were there any clues?”

“The left headlight was broken—probably when it hit Marchal. It matched the type of glass found at the scene.”

“Were there fingerprints inside?”

“No, it had been wiped clean or they wore gloves. However, the person who stole the car was described as wearing a knit cap. They found a knit cap inside the car.”

“And? Must you drag everything out? Tell me!”

“I do not want to upset you.”

“I need the truth. Tell me. Worrying is upsetting me.”

“There were blonde hairs in the cap. They are being sent off for DNA testing. I have paid a fee to expedite the testing, so it should be back within a day or so. They went to where Paul is staying to get a sample from him. He does not have an alibi. His description matched the description given that of the person who stole the car. I am afraid they have arrested him.”

“No, it cannot be! Not Paul. He wouldn’t do it. He has too much to lose.”

“Brother, as I have said before, you are too trusting. Jealousy is a strong emotion. Couple that with rejection and you get a very strong motive!”

“I refuse to believe it.”

“When the DNA tests show it is his hair you will have no choice but to believe it.”

“It will not be his hair. It cannot be. Are the police looking at the other possible suspects?”

“I assume they are.  I’m sorry to bring this news to you.”

“I am sure you are. What about Marchal? Any word on how he is? Find out if there is a way I can see him. I want to talk to him.”

Louis sighed. “I will go check.”

He came back with a nurse pushing a wheelchair. “Mr. Orleans, I can take you to see Mr. Marchal for just a few minutes, but you must use this wheelchair.”

“They are making me get up to go to the bathroom. I should be able to walk down the hall.”

“It is hospital policy you use a wheelchair.”

“Ok. Wouldn’t want to break any hospital rules.”

Philippe grimaced as he got out of bed and put his hand to his head. “I will be glad when this headache goes away.” He sat in the chair and allowed the nurse to push him. “Come along, brother, I’d like you to meet Fabien.”

Fabien was just down the hall. He was awake sitting in his bed looking at nothing. Philippe saw the bandage on his face and his splinted and bandaged hand and winced in sympathy.

“Fabien! I just had to see you tonight! I believe you know my brother, Louis.”

Fabien tried to smile but grimaced when the bandage stretched too far. “Yes, I believe Louis and I have met before. A long time ago.”  

Louis smiled and said, “I owe you a great debt for sacrificing your body to save my brother.”

“It is what friends do, sir. Philippe, I am glad to see you up and about.”

“I just have a concussion from the knock on my head. It could have been worse if not for you.”

“I, too, have a concussion. Does your head hurt, too?”

“Yes, worse than a hangover. How do your fingers feel?”

“They throb, but I have had worse injuries.”

“I came here to talk to you about the investigation. The police have arrested Paul.”

“They must have good reason, then.”

“I know he didn’t do it, Fabien. He had no reason to. He had a great new job. He was going to travel the world. He and I parted on very good terms. He knew we couldn’t carry on a long-distance relationship and he gave me his blessing to see Lorraine.”

“Maybe he had a change of heart after he thought about it. Jealousy is a powerful motive.”

“That’s what everyone tells me, but I know in my heart he didn’t do it. Promise me, when you are released, that you will look into it.”

“Yes, it is something I would do as your new head of security anyway. And thank you for that.”

“You have already proven yourself worthy of the job. Oh, the nurse is motioning to me. I believe our visiting time is done. I will see you before we are released. Thank you, again.”

Philippe returned to his room to find Lorraine waiting at the door. “Oh, there you are! It scared me when I came in, and you were not in your bed.” Lorraine bent and kissed Philippe, “Any word on when you will get out of here?”

“Maybe tomorrow.” Philippe grimaced as he climbed back in bed.

“My love, do you still have a headache?”

“Yes, but only when I move.”

“Then I suggest you don’t move.”

Louie spoke up, “Philippe, I will leave you two alone now. I’m afraid I must leave for Rouen tonight. I have been away from my job too long. If there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call me.” Louie walked over and gave Philippe a hug. “Take care, brother.” Louis left.

“I thought he would never leave!” Lorraine moved over to the bed. He took Philippe’s head in his hands and gave him a long, deep kiss. “Do you think there is any chance they would let me stay here with you tonight?” Lorraine’s hand moved to Philippe’s knee, slid up to his thigh, then disappeared under his hospital gown. Philippe grabbed the hand. “No, my head hurts too much—and not in here. There is no privacy.”

“I am afraid my own head is aching, too—but not the one on my shoulders. You owe me one you know.”

Philippe sighed, “Yes. I know. I can’t wait until this headache is gone, so we can be together again. I am going stir-crazy sitting in this bed. I cannot read; I cannot watch television. They won’t even let me have pen and paper to write lyrics. All I do is sleep and think.”

“Thinking! How boring!”

“They said they might let me go home tomorrow.”

“Call me as soon as you know when they are releasing you and I will be here with a car. You are not going back to that flat. I want you to come home with me, at least for a few days. I’ll get someone to help you when I am at work, if needed.”

“Thank you. I was not looking forward to returning to my flat, but if I don’t get released tomorrow I am going to scream.”

Lorraine reached over and put his fingers under Philippe’s chin, “My love, don’t waste your breath. When you come home, I will make you scream—with pleasure,” and kissed Philippe. “Now scoot over a little and let me sit beside you. I will keep you company until they kick me out of here.”

Philippe scooted over, grimacing as he did so. Lorraine sat beside him, then reached over and gently pushed Philippe’s hair away from his ear, nibbled on the ear and blew into it gently. He kissed his cheek, then his forehead, moving down his nose to his mouth. He nibbled on Philippe’s bottom lip. Philippe responded by kissing him.

When the nurse came in for the nine p.m. vitals check, Lorraine was on top of Philippe as they kissed and caressed each other. The nurse blushed and almost walked back out but knew she had to break them up. She cleared her throat. That did not get a response, so she cleared her throat again, this time louder.

Lorraine looked around to see who was there.

The nurse spoke, “Sorry, sir. It is time for you to leave. Visiting hours are over and Mr. Orleans needs his rest. I also need to check his vitals.”

Lorraine returned to sitting on the edge of the bed, “Oh, there is no need for that, I have already checked his vitals—he is breathing, and his heart is beating—a little rapidly, perhaps, but I have to admit that is probably my fault.”

“Please sir.” The nurse looked stricken.

Philippe said, “Lorraine, please go and let the woman do her job. I will call you tomorrow. And thanks. You made me forget my headache—for a while at least.”

“Very well, I shall leave,” he gave Philippe one last kiss. “Until tomorrow, then.”

He got off the bed and said to the nurse as he passed her, “My dear, he is all yours for tonight.”

The next morning, Philippe’s headache was much better. He asked the morning nurse if he would be released that day and she said she thought she had seen orders for his release. He waited patiently for the doctor to make his morning rounds and was finally rewarded as the doctor glided in.

“Good morning, Mr. Orleans. How is your head this morning?”

“Perfect. I am ready to go home. Am I being released today?”

The doctor mumbled as he looked through Philippe’s chart. “Yes. I see no reason to keep you here. Of course, there will be certain restrictions you will need to follow.”

“Restrictions?”

“Yes, it takes a while for a concussion to heal. The more you adhere to certain guidelines the sooner it will heal.”

“What are these guidelines?”

“Mostly it concerns thinking, seeing, and physical activity. Computer and TV screens are hard on your brain and eyes. Limit them to very short periods only a few times a day. Limit your reading also. Anything that requires mental activity should be kept to a minimum. No physically demanding exercise. You should avoid cooking and all household chores. It will be best if you have a family member to take care of these needs. You need plenty of bed rest and sleep at night. Take acetaminophen as I will prescribe. Drink plenty of fluids—but avoid alcohol. If you have trouble sleeping, call my office and we will see what we can do to help you.”

“How long before I am healed?”

“If you follow the guidelines faithfully, it could take as little as three weeks.”

“Three weeks!”

“Yes, it takes time for the brain to get back to normal. I’d like to see you again in two weeks. Earlier if you continue to have bad headaches. Call my office for an appointment if that happens. Here is a list of the things you need to do as well as symptoms to watch out for and suggested foods to eat to nourish the brain. Do you have any questions?”

“How about sex? Is that allowed?”

“It is a physical activity, so I would say no.”

“How about getting or receiving a blow job?”

“That too, is a physical activity, so no.”

Philippe sighed and frowned, “Damn! I am going to kill the person who did this to me. No! Don’t tell me, that is a physical activity, too!”

“This is your brain we are talking about.  It has been damaged and needs to heal.”

“Yes, I understand. When will I be able to leave?”

“Let me submit these orders. They should be processed in about an hour. A nurse will come in to wheel you out.”

“I can walk, thank you.”

“No, it is hospital policy that you be wheeled to your vehicle at the pick-up curb. Also, no driving. Good luck to you, Mr. Orleans.” The doctor turned and left.

Philippe called Lorraine to let him know about the release. The call went to voice mail. “Yeah, figures.” Philippe left a message and was surprised when Lorraine called back just a few minutes later.

“Yes, my dear Philippe, I will be at the hospital in an hour. Shall I go to your room?”

“No, I think it would be better to go to the pick-up and drop-off area in front. They will take me there in a wheelchair—it’s hospital policy.”

Philippe hung up and decided to get dressed. He hadn’t thought to ask anyone to bring him fresh clothes, so he had to wear the same clothes he was injured in. They were dirty and wrinkled with a few little tears, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to get out of there. He decided to take a walk to see Fabien.

Fabien smiled when he saw Philippe. “Looks like you are leaving!”

“Yes, in a little less than an hour, but I wanted to see you. You are going to need help when you get home. I’d offer, but, I am restricted as to what I can do, too. Lorraine wants me to go to his place for a few days.  I’d like to get you a medical assistant—someone to cook for you, do light housework, ensure you are taken care of.”

“It will not be necessary. I can take care of myself.”

“With one hand in a splint and the rest of your body bruised and battered? I think not. I will get someone to come a few hours in the morning and a few in the early evening. The insurance may cover it, but if not, I will—well, my record company account will. They owe you a debt as do I. Any idea when they might release you?”

“They say it will be a few more days before the swelling in my side and organs has gone down enough.”

“Take all the time you need.”

“I am anxious to start my investigation.”

“The bad guys will wait, Fabien. You must allow yourself to get healthy. I must get back to my room, so I don’t miss the nurse with the discharge papers.”

Philippe returned to his room. An hour passed. Lorraine called to say he was downstairs and that he couldn’t park for long in the pick-up area. He said he was going to park nearby and told Philippe to call him when the nurse arrived to take him down. Finally, after an hour and a half wait, the nurse came to take Philippe down. Philippe called Lorraine to let him know he was on his way down.

Lorraine and his driver were waiting in the car in the pickup zone. The driver got out to help Philippe into the backseat where Lorraine was waiting for him. “My god, the hospital certainly took its sweet time getting you released! How is your headache?”

“Gone now that I am with you.”

“Good!” Lorraine took Philippe in an embrace and kissed him long and hard. “I have taken the rest of the day off as well as tomorrow. I will be your slave.”

“There is a long list of restrictions on my activities—to allow my brain time to heal. They said it will take three weeks.”

“Three weeks? What kind of restrictions?”

“Well, for one, no sex.”

“Truly, you jest.”

“No. I do not. Here, see for yourself.” Philippe handed Lorraine the paperwork he had been given with the restrictions on them.

“Oh, dear god! This is insane. Surely you are not going to follow all of these?”

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Philippe was starting to wonder if he was going to lose Lorraine over this. “Give me another kiss. I have missed you.”

“And I you.” They embraced and kissed again.

Philippe said, “When we get home, we can take a shower and I will pay you back for the other morning. I have not forgotten.”

“And what of the restrictions?”

“We do have to shower to keep clean.”

“Yes, and I am feeling very dirty.”

When they got to Lorraine’s house, they took their shower and Philippe gave Lorraine what he owed him. That afternoon and evening, they spent in bed, sometimes sleeping, other times breaking certain restrictions.

The next morning at about nine, Philippe’s phone ring tone went off. Philippe fumbled for the phone and answered it just before it went to voicemail. It was Louis.

“Brother are you home now?”

“Yes, the headache is gone.”

“Sorry to call this early, but I have just gotten the DNA results for the hairs on that hat.”

“They weren’t Paul’s, were they?”

“Actually, I am afraid they were.”

Philippe was stunned! “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe he would risk everything to hurt me after we settled things. Do you know where they are holding him? I must go talk to him, face to face.”

“I can give you the information but are you really sure you want to do that? You know he is going to say he didn’t do it. They always do.”

“Still, I need to hear his explanation.”

Louis gave him the address of the station where Paul was being held and told Philippe he was glad he was feeling better and hung up. Philippe shook Lorraine. “Wake up, we have to go see Paul. Call your car.”

“What? Right now? What has happened?”

“The DNA has shown the hairs in that cap were Paul’s.”

“Oh, so your little friend did it. How sad.”

“No, he did not do it. I need to go talk to him, right now, face to face.”

“Now? Can’t it wait?”

“No! How would you feel locked up in a jail with no friends?”

Lorraine shuddered at his memory in the dream of being chained in that horrible jail. “Oh, okay, but I don’t understand why you are doing this.” Lorraine dragged himself out of bed.

Before long, Philippe was at the station, being led into a room where he was to be joined by Paul. Lorraine had told Philippe he had an aversion to jails and would stay in the car.

They led a handcuffed Paul into the room. His face and attitude reeked of despair. He was seated at the table across from Philippe.

“Philippe, I am glad to see you well.”

“Are you? Truly? Paul, they say you drove the car that tried to kill me. The evidence points to you. Why?”

Paul looked at Philippe, his eyes were filled with grief and anguish. “I did not do it.”

“But they found a cap in the abandoned stolen car. They took hairs from the cap that have your DNA. You have no alibi. You match the description of the person who stole the car that tried to run over me.”

“I don’t know how that cap got into that car. How many young, blonde men do you know that fit my description? I was at my friend’s house alone, going through my things to decide what to pack. My friend was at work. Someone set me up. The last time I saw that hat was right after I left your place. I think I wore it to work, but I can’t remember.”

“Did you tell the police all of this?”

“They didn’t listen.”

Philippe remembered his own experience with the police. “Paul, I believe you. My investigator, Fabien Marchal, was injured pushing me out of the way. He will be out of the hospital soon and he will get to the bottom of this. Meanwhile, I am going to try and post your bail to get you out of here.”

“Philippe, I am going to lose my job. That was my future.”

“I will ask Lorraine to talk to Mr. Gaspiere—or I will talk to him myself. Surely, if he sees that I don’t believe you did it, he will believe in your innocence, too.”

“You give me such hope.” Paul’s face brightened a little. “Again, you come to my rescue. Thank you.”

Philippe could see that Paul was still defeated and in despair.

“Keep your head up. Paul, I know you are innocent, and I will do everything I can to prove it. You will be hearing from me soon.”

Philippe reached across the table and put his hand over Paul’s. The guard replied gruffly, “No touching!” and Philippe withdrew his hand but smiled at Paul.

“I promise I will get you out of here. Now smile for me.”

Paul managed a small smile. The guard replied, “Your visit time has ended.” He walked over and helped Paul to his feet and led him out of the room.

Philippe sighed and hoped he could follow through on his promises.

Back in the car, Philippe told Lorraine he wanted to go to see Gaspiere.

Lorraine chided him, “This is _not_ taking it easy, Philippe.  Let me get my lawyer to handle this. I’ll have him take care of the bail and I will call Gaspiere myself. I will see to it that everything possible is done to get Paul out of jail.”

“You would do that?”

“Why not? I want you happy. Now, you look very tired and I don’t want you to relapse and go back into the hospital. Let’s go home and get you back in bed. I will make the call to my lawyer and get this going.”

When they arrived back at Lorraine’s, Lorraine insisted that Philippe go lay down while he made the call to his lawyer and to Gaspiere. Lorraine was able to convince Gaspiere to give Paul a chance to clear himself, but Gaspiere made it clear he had to have someone in time for the New York show. He was going to hire a stand-in for Paul in case Paul was not free for New York. If it turned out Paul was guilty, Gaspiere made it clear he would terminate Paul. This whole scandal was already having adverse effects on Gaspiere’s reputation.

When Lorraine went into the bedroom to check on Philippe, he saw that he had fallen asleep in his clothes. Lorraine removed Philippe’s shoes, pants and shirt as gently as he could. Philippe did not wake up. Lorraine covered him with a sheet, so he wouldn’t get chilled. Then Lorraine decided to get a bottle of wine and a glass. He sat in his bedroom chair drinking wine and watching Philippe sleep. He sighed. What was wrong with him? He was not acting like himself. Where was the Lorraine who scoffed at falling in love? The one who believed sex was for personal gratification and nothing else. The Lorraine who met a good-looking young man, hooked-up with him until the sex got boring or the guy got boring, then moved on to the next. Never did he care much about the personal comfort or well-being of his conquests. If they got needy, he dropped them like a hot potato.

Yet, here was Philippe. They had not known each other long, but somehow Philippe had gotten to him. He _cared_ about Philippe—and the sex was even better, because of the caring. He knew he was going to have to go back to the old Lorraine because that was who he was and always had been. He knew there would come a time when he would get bored with Philippe. He always did. If he let this thing go on much longer, he knew he would devastate Philippe and he didn’t want to do that. A part of him was already worried that it was too late. Philippe was going to be devastated anyway.

He drained the glass of wine and took the bottle to the kitchen. He closed the bottle with a stopper and put it in the fridge. Back in the bedroom, he removed his clothes and climbed in bed with Philippe, wrapping his arms around him. He had no idea why he was doing this, but it just felt like the right thing to do. And he needed to feel Philippe in his arms. Desperately.

He drifted off to sleep and fell into a dream. He was dressed in clothes that the designer in him recognized were from the 1600’s. He was in a set of rooms decorated in the opulent style of the time and where he knew he lived with Philippe. The strange thing was his knowledge that Philippe had a wife—of which he was extremely jealous. Her name was Liselotte. Liselotte was married by proxy to Philippe who could not refuse to do his duty to marry as his brother, the king, chose. The marriage had been arranged to consolidate the relationship between France and the Palatinate.

He dreamed of Philippe and this woman’s public bedding—the night they would consummate their marriage. Philippe had enlisted Lorraine to help him in a small act of rebellion where Philippe would show up at the ceremony dressed as a woman—an act that would infuriate and embarrass his brother, the king. Surprisingly, Philippe had several beautiful dresses in his wardrobe. Lorraine had helped put makeup on Philippe and arrange his hair in a beautiful coif. Philippe had looked amazingly lovely, but Lorraine was devastated at the prospect of losing Philippe to Liselotte.

Lorraine dreamed of the happiness he felt when he learned that the consummation had been unsuccessful. As long as Philippe was in his bed, Lorraine could be ensured of Philippe’s love. His entire existence at court depended on that love. But his happiness was short-lived, when a few days later, he let himself into the woman’s room to bring her some woolen clothes she had requested, only to find her naked in bed, covering herself with a sheet. Surprised he said, “Oh. Shall I come back later?” only to hear Philippe’s voice answer him, “Good idea.” Shocked he walked over to the bed and pulled back the sheet to find Philippe naked in bed. That was when he realized that Philippe and Liselotte had finally consummated the marriage and he had lost his exclusive claim on Philippe. He awoke from the dream filled with feelings of jealousy, rejection, anger, and betrayal. Like the jail dream, this one had been intense and vividly realistic.  

He sat up in bed trying to shake the feelings and the images of the dream, but they clung to his memory like sticky honey. He looked down at Philippe, still sleeping, and tried to reconcile the Philippe that lay inches from him with the one naked in bed with the woman. They were the same, yet they were different—just as he was the same in the dream, but also different.

He got up and went into the kitchen and poured himself more wine. He took the bottle and his glass to the couch and turned on his fireplace. He sat on the couch watching the flames dance while drinking his wine. He didn’t understand all the conflicting emotions that were raging inside himself. Most of all he tried to understand this all-consuming feeling of jealousy he had about Philippe. Jealousy was something he had rarely allowed himself to feel. If he started liking someone enough to start feeling jealous, he always ended the relationship. Jealousy was for losers and romantics. The last thing he ever wanted to be was a romantic. Life was not romantic. You either won or you lost. You lost because you were weak and let emotion get in the way. Romantics thrived on emotions and glorified possibilities. He believed in actualities. Yes, he was passionate: passionate about fashion and design, passionate about the act of sex, passionate about flirting. But mostly he was passionate about always being in control. And he knew he was losing control.

 


	19. The Hound is Released

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabien is released from the hospital and begins the investigation. Fabien reveals that he saw the driver of the car to Philippe. After learning a few clues, Fabien is certain he knows who did it and has an idea how to prove it. Lorraine is becoming inexplicably possessive and jealous over Philippe since he had the dream about Philippe and Liselotte.

Several mornings later, Fabien woke with a purpose and that purpose was to leave the hospital and start his investigation. When the doctor came to see him, Fabien let him know he was leaving, with or without consent. Fabien obviously made the doctor nervous with that “I could kill you easily” look he had.

“Mr. Marchal, I would not recommend you do that, but, well, I could release you with strict orders to take it easy. You will do that won’t you?”

“I will consider your instructions.”

“Well, yes, uh, then. Here is the list of what you should do—the restrictions you need to follow, the food to eat, things to watch out for, and so on. I have an appointment set up for you in two weeks with one of my associates.  I will go turn in the orders to have you released. You should have someone come pick you up. No driving for a while.”

“I will need to drive to perform my job.” Fabien smiled inside knowing the doctor was rattled.

“You should probably take a week off, at least. Your brain, liver, kidney, gall bladder, and all the muscles on that side of your body have been traumatized. They need time to heal. You are lucky you did not suffer more severe injuries. Then there are your broken fingers. You do understand the need for rest and recuperation?”

“Yes, I understand and will take it under consideration.” Fabien gave the doctor one of his glaring, “don’t mess with me looks.”

“Well, aw, yes, in that case. I will go now. Have a good recovery,” and the doctor almost ran out of the room.

Fabien picked up his phone and called Philippe.

“Fabien! How are you doing?” Philippe sounded half asleep.

“I am doing well. The doctor is releasing me. Is it possible you could get a car and meet me here at the hospital? Then I want to go talk to your friend, Paul. Is he still in jail?”

“No, Lorraine paid his bail. He is out and staying at my flat.”

“With you?”

“No, I am at Lorraine’s. But Paul needed a place to stay and to be honest I didn’t want him staying with that friend of his. I don’t trust that whole lot. Paul will be going to work soon, so we should probably get over there as soon as we can. I’ll get a car and be at the hospital as soon as I can get there.”

“Call me when you get to the hospital parking lot”

“Will do. And I am so glad you are doing better. Bye.”

Philippe looked at the time on his phone: 7:00 am. Fabien always was impatient. He felt Lorraine stirring beside him.

“What is going on?”

“It was Fabien. He is being released this morning. I’m going to pick him up and he wants to talk to Paul.”

“He does not waste time, does he?”

“No, he does not.”

“Do you have time for a shower?” Lorraine put his hand on Philippe’s face to stroke it affectionately.

“No, I said I would be there right away.”

“No time for me this morning, then? I knew it was only a matter of time before you grew bored of me,” replied Lorraine with a look of feigned hurt.

Philippe reached over and gave him a kiss, “Never, my love. It’s just that, once in a while, there are other things in life that need attending to beside you. Have a great day at the fashion house.”

Philippe was up and getting dressed.

“Will I see you this evening?” asked Lorraine, still feigning hurt feelings.

“Of course. I’ll call you,” and Philippe was out the door leaving Lorraine in the bed feeling a little annoyed.

Since Lorraine had that dream of finding Philippe in bed with his wife, he kept finding himself being jealous of anyone Philippe even talked to. Jealous and possessive. It was so unlike the person Lorraine had once been. He sighed and crawled out of bed to take a shower, alone.

A little later, Philippe’s car was pulling up to the hospital. He called Fabien to let him know he was there.

“I’m still waiting on the release orders to be processed.”

“They seem to take a while to get to that. We will park and wait for you,” Philippe told Fabien.

“There is something I should tell you. When I was hit, I saw the face of the driver.”

“You did! Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I wasn’t sure. The concussion made my memory fuzzy. Now, the confusion is gone, and I am sure.”

“That is great!”

“Not so much. It is just a face. I do not have a name to go with it. I need to warn you, it could very well be your Paul. I will know when I meet him.”

“I am just as sure that when you see Paul, you will know it is not him.”

“Here comes the nurse now. I will be down in the pickup area in just a few minutes.”

“We’ll move over there right now. See you in a few.”

Soon Philippe and Fabien were arriving at the flat. The police tape had been removed from around his door. The door had been hastily painted but Philippe could still see a faint outline of the words. Philippe had called Paul to let him know they were coming.

A haggard Paul opened the door to let them in.

“Paul, are you getting any sleep? You look terrible,” Philippe asked.

“I am just so worried about these charges,” answered Paul, “It is hard to sleep.”

It was at that moment that Paul noticed the intense look Fabien was giving him. He blanched a little because, with his face bandaged, Fabien was quite ominous.

Philippe broke the mood of the moment, “Paul, this is my friend, savior, and investigator, Fabien Marchal. He is the one who pushed me out of the way and saved my life. He also says he saw the face of the driver.”

Fabien stated, “And it was not your face that I saw driving that car.”

Paul was looking somewhat confused. Philippe tried to explain, “Paul, Fabien saw the face of the driver of that car. He says you are not the driver!”

“And the police will take his word for it? What about the other evidence?”

Fabien answered, “I have a good idea of who it is and will gather evidence to prove it.”

Philippe bragged, “Fabien is the best investigator. He will get to the truth. You’ll see.”

“I need the address of that company you worked for when you were assaulted,” Fabien requested of Paul.

“You think one of them did it?” Paul asked.

Fabien ignored Paul’s question. “I have a few questions for you, first, though. Did one of your co-workers ask you out and then, did you refuse them?”

“Yes. Erin decided he liked me and kept pushing me to go out with him.”

“What reason did you give for not going out with him. I need the truth, don’t lie.”

Paul looked nervously at Philippe, then answered, “I told him I was already seeing someone.”

“And who did you say that was?”

“The famous rock star, Philippe d’Orleans.” Sudden understanding flooded Paul’s face. “Oh, god, Philippe. Now I understand. He was jealous of you! He attacked you and tried to set me up out of spite. Your getting hurt is all my fault.”

Philippe was too stunned to say anything. Paul had said he told his co-workers the reason he didn’t want to get drunk was because he had someone waiting at home. He never mentioned someone asking him out.

Fabien broke the awkward silence, “I believe this Erin is the same one who put the drugs in your drink and set it up for your assault, Paul. Then, Philippe, when your brother pushed for the police to investigate it as an assault and not a prank, they wanted revenge on you and planned it where Paul would take the fall.”

Paul asked, “But how are you going to prove that?”

“I am going to get one of them to testify against the others. Someone who would know who took your hat and planted it in the stolen car. First, a question, Paul. Does Erin have blonde hair?”

“Yes.”

“Then he is probably the one who stole the car, too. Paul, who, in that little group, do you think is the weakest person? Someone who would turn on the others easily?”

Paul thought for a few minutes. “Pete. I think he is deathly afraid to go to jail. He has an older brother who is in jail for robbery and his brother told him horrible stories of what had happened to him in jail. Pete’s brother has been raped, beaten and robbed in jail. He told Pete all these things because he wanted to scare Pete, so he would stay out of trouble.”

Philippe asked Fabien, “But how are you going to flip Pete? It needs be done legally. I don’t want you winding up in jail for ‘intimidating’ someone.”

Fabien smiled and said, “I have my ways and it will all be legal. Now for the address of that company where you worked with these creeps, Paul. Type it into my phone here.”

Fabien opened a notebook on his phone and handed it to Paul. Paul typed in the address and phone number.

“Good. I believe my car is still in the parking lot out there. I will get back with both of you on what I uncover.”

Philippe was alarmed, “You can’t drive with broken fingers! You need rest! This can wait until you are healed.”

“The broken fingers are on my left hand, I use my right to drive. I always strike when the iron is hot. If things go cold, everything is jeopardized. I want these people in jail before they do anymore harm. Goodbye.” Fabien turned and left, leaving Philippe and Paul alone.

Paul was the first to speak, “I’m sorry, Philippe. I probably should have told you. At that party, Erin kept making passes at me and several times tried to kiss me. I thought if I told him I was with you, he’d stop, but he didn’t. I swear I did nothing to encourage him.”

Philippe replied, “It’s okay. The important thing now is for Fabien to clear your name and find the evidence to put Erin and his buddies away.”

“I will be so relieved when he clears my name. I was so worried I was going to lose my new job over this.”

“Fabien will see to it that you don’t. Do you mind if I come in for a moment? I need to get my keyboard and notes to take them to Lorraine’s to work.”

“Sure, it’s your home. I thought you couldn’t do any work?”

“I’ve already broken so many doctor’s restrictions, why not one more? Besides, it is more stressful sitting around with nothing to do.”

As Philippe stepped into the flat Paul moved forward to kiss him, but Philippe put his hand out to stop him. “Sorry, I can’t, Paul.”

“Not even a goodbye kiss?”

“We’ve already had that.” Philippe stepped around Paul and went to his workroom to get the items he needed. When he came out, Paul was there to confront him.

“So, you are going forward with Lorraine, then?”

“Yes, I’ve already told you so much. I don’t know what else there is to discuss.” Philippe was starting to get annoyed. He saw the hurt feelings on Paul’s face and softened. “We both know this is for the best. You are going to New York and you will strut your stuff for the world to see. I guarantee you that someone will notice you and you will be in a new and exciting relationship soon. But you must be open to it and not pining for me. Promise me that.”

“Yes. I know after all the trouble I have caused you, it’s a wonder you even talk to me.”

“That is a defeatist attitude and I won’t have it from you! That Erin caused all this trouble, not you. You and I had a good relationship. You were so much better than I deserved. One chapter ends, and another begins. Go grab it! Welcome it with a clear heart.” Philippe kissed Paul’s forehead. “Now, I have to go.” Philippe left quickly before Paul could say anything else, shutting the door behind him.

As he walked to his waiting car, his phone rang. It was Lorraine.

“Hi, where are you?”

“Just leaving my flat.”

“Your flat? Oh.”

“Fabien and I just had a talk with Paul, and Fabien has figured out who was driving the car. He has gone now to take care of things and I am on the way back to your place. Do you mind if I bring my keyboard and work a little at your place?”

“No, I don’t mind, but what about the doctor’s orders?”

“It’s been a few days, I’m feeling better. I’d rather work than do nothing.”

“Well, I’m sorry I had to return to work. I can think of things we could be doing that would be a lot more fun than nothing.”

“We can do them tonight. Is there a reason you called?”

“No, just wanted to hear your voice and see what you were doing.”

“Checking up on me?”

“You left so quickly this morning. I just wanted to see if things were working out okay for you. You do know that Marchal gives me the creeps for some reason.”

Philippe smiled to himself. Yes, he knew Lorraine would not like Fabien much. Even if Marchal had not appeared in Lorraine’s jail dream, the residual effects would be there since it was Marchal who had thrown the Chevalier in jail.

Philippe answered, “Fabien has that effect on some people. As an investigator, developing that persona has helped him. People are afraid to lie to him. He really is a good person once you get to know him. He is very dedicated.”

“If you say so. I am glad he is going to clear all this up. Now you get yourself home and get some rest. I want you healed and whole again. The only restriction I want you breaking is having sex with me, understand?”

“You sure are getting bossy, but yes, I understand.” Philippe did feel a little tired after all this early morning running around. He didn’t have a headache, yet, but knew if he kept pushing it he would. “I’ll go home and rest a while before I do a little work. See you tonight.”

Philippe got in his car and told the driver to take him back to Lorraine’s where he crawled into bed and slept for a while.

At lunchtime, Fabien was waiting for Pete to come out of his work place. When Pete appeared, Fabien walked up and said to a startled Pete, “We need to talk. Now.”

 


	20. Sometimes They Work, Sometimes They Don't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrests are made in the assault on Paul and also on Fabien and Philippe. Paul leaves for New York. Philippe offers Fabien his flat since he is spending all his time with Lorraine. Fabien gets a major surprise at his next doctor's visit. Philippe and Lorraine throw an impromptu dinner party for Fabien and two special guests. Lorraine has some very bad Versailles dreams. He and Philippe argue and he kicks Philippe out.

Two weeks had passed, and a lot had happened. Fabien’s investigation had resulted in the arrests of Erin, Pete and several of the others involved in Paul’s assault and in the attempt on Philippe and Fabien. Erin had been booked for two counts of attempted homicide, two counts of assault with a motor vehicle resulting in bodily injury, felony auto-theft, felony tampering with evidence, and sexual assault. Those who had also assaulted Paul were charged with sexual assault. The one who didn’t participate in the rape was charged as an accomplice to sexual assault. Pete had agreed to turn state’s evidence (plead guilty and agreed to testify against the others) in exchange for leniency in sentencing. He was given ten years with chance of parole after two years. The arrests and charges were covered extensively by the media and Fabien was highly praised for his work. Louis was given credit for his advocacy in pushing for the charges to be made in Paul’s assault case and now could add “champion for the gay community” to his campaign strategy.

The incident had also increased Philippe’s popularity and there was increased interest in his upcoming album. Invitations to various talk shows and guest appearances poured in, but he told his agent that he needed to concentrate on writing the album before he could do any appearances. The gossip columns were filled with Orleans and Lorraine tidbits. It was harder for both to go out in public now, prompting an immediate need for Fabien’s help as security for Philippe. Fabien had received many offers for jobs, including many from law enforcement agencies. Philippe had told him it was okay if he wanted to take one of them instead of working for him. Fabien insisted that his place was with Philippe.

Philippe was now spending all his nights with Lorraine while Paul stayed at his apartment. Today, however, was the day of Paul’s departure for New York. He had asked Philippe if he would accompany him to the airport and Philippe had reluctantly agreed to it. Fabien went with them. Philippe was wearing a hat with his hair tucked in it and sunglasses. As they walked through the airport, only a few people recognized Philippe, but Fabien’s scowling presence kept them from approaching. At the gate, it was time for Paul to say his goodbyes.

Philippe was saying, “I will see you when you come back in six months for the trial” when Paul wrapped his arms tightly around him and kissed him, long and hard. Philippe tried to pull away then relented.

“Thank you for everything you have done for me, Philippe.”

Philippe answered with, “You are welcome. Take care of yourself. Enjoy your new adventures!”

The call came for boarding and Paul gave Philippe one last hug and walked quickly away shouting, “I’ll keep in touch!” then disappeared into the crowd. Philippe stood for a moment staring at the crowd then turned to Fabien, “Let’s get out of here. I hate airports.”

In the car, Philippe turned to Fabien and asked, “You know, my flat is empty now and I have a long-term lease on it that I can’t break without expensive penalties. I was wondering if you’d like to live there as part of your benefits package. Free rent and utilities.”

“You are not going to move back in there?”

“No, I will be staying with Lorraine.”

“Let me check on the status of the place I am in now and see how long I have to go on the lease and what penalties there are for early termination. Your flat is much nicer than where I am staying now.”

“And it will be free, don’t forget that. I’ll pay your early termination fees, too, if you want. I’ll keep it furnished for you or store the furniture if you have your own.”

“That’s a pretty good offer. I don’t have much furniture, so I wouldn’t mind using yours. But your place is so big. What is it, four bedrooms?”

“You could even get roommates if you wanted. Charge them rent and make a little extra money.”

“I don’t think I could tolerate roommates, nor would they be able to tolerate me.”

“Think about it, you don’t need to make a decision right away.”

They were on their way to their two-week doctor check-ups that happened to be scheduled fifteen minutes apart. Fabien wondered what the associate he was to see would be like and if he’d been fore-warned about his intimidating patient. Fabien laughed and then told Philippe about how he had scared his doctor at discharge time. “It comes in handy sometimes to be an asshole,” Fabien told Philippe.

As they checked into the doctor’s office, Philippe was told the doctor would see him in about ten minutes and the receptionist said, “Mr. Marchal, his associate, Dr. Masson will see you in just a few minutes. If you will both have a seat, we will call you.”

Fabien looked at Philippe and asked, “Is the name Masson familiar to you?”

“Yeah, I think that was the doctor who first saw me at the hospital. Why?”

“Claudine’s last name was Masson.”

Philippe’s eyes got very large as he remembered his encounter with Dr. Masson. “All I remember is that it was a female doctor. My head and eyes weren’t focusing very well.”

Fabien shrugged and said, “There must be thousands of Massons and any number of them could be female doctors. The odds of it being her are astronomical.”

Fabien’s name was called, and Philippe said, “Well, you are about to find out. Good luck.”

Fabien stood up to follow the nurse’s aide to his room. “Please sit on that table” She took his vitals then asked him to remove everything but his underwear and handed him a gown to put on. “Don’t tie it, leave it loose. Dr. Masson will be in shortly.” Fabien did as he was asked. He was reminded how much he hated doctor’s offices. He normally was calm and collected, but now he was fidgeting and nervous. It wouldn’t be her. It couldn’t be her.

Then she walked in and Fabien almost fell off the table. If it wasn’t Claudine, it was a spitting image of her.

“Mr. Marchal are you okay? Do you still have dizziness? You looked like you almost fell off that table. You look a little pale, too.” She looked at his chart that she had in her hands and said, “Your vitals look very good.”

“The table is slippery is all.”

“Yes, and they can be cold on bare bums, too,” she smiled.

It even sounded like her. Fabien found himself staring at her intently as she studied his chart for a moment. She looked up and saw him looking at her. He saw something that looked like recognition followed by a look of confusion.

He decided to say what he was thinking, “Do you remember me?”

She hesitated and asked, “Have you been my patient before?” There was a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, a very long time ago.” He saw her hesitate and stare at him. He decided to push his luck, “I’ve had dreams about you.” That time it was her turn to turn pale. He pushed on, “Have you had dreams of me? Dreams of another time and place? Mid-1600's France? A palace called Versailles?”

Now her eyes were wide with surprise. She tried to speak but couldn’t find the right words.

“During those days, I came to you several times. Once, I had been poisoned with arsenic. Another, stabbed in the chest. Do you remember?”

Finally, she managed to get out some words, “But those were _my_ dreams—and _you_ were in those dreams. How is that possible?”

“Do you remember what we meant to each other? The happiness we found?”

“Yes. How is this possible?”

“I know you are going to think I am crazy—and maybe I am, but I believe we are the same people in the dreams. We have been reincarnated in this modern time, somehow. Now _this_ is going to sound even crazier, but there are others. That man who came in with me today is Philippe duc d’Orleans, brother to Louis XIV—and Louis is here, too. He’s Mayor of Rouen. Philippe’s lover, the Chevalier d’Lorraine, is here, too, but for some reason he doesn’t remember. Philippe is going crazy trying to get him to remember.”

“I was doctor to the King until I couldn’t save his child—or at least I was in the dream. There were poisonings in the court and I was trying to find out which poison was used. I had found it when…” Her voice trailed off, afraid to say the words.

“You were killed. I buried you in your favorite place—where you used to gather wild flowers as a child. I found those responsible and ensured they paid with their lives. I would have given anything to have been able to save you.” There were tears in Fabien’s eyes.

“Is this really possible? I just can’t believe this.”

“Look, after you get out of work this evening, let me take you to meet Philippe and Lorraine. You will see it is true. We probably shouldn’t say anything to Lorraine about this until he gets his memory back. Philippe says he has had one dream, but it hasn’t been enough, yet.”

“I really don’t know you.”

“Bring a friend, then. We won’t talk about it in front of your friend either. We can talk later, after you have seen Philippe and the Chevalier with your own eyes. What time can we pick you up?”

“Pick me up here at the clinic at six. I’ll bring my aide with me. Now I’d better get this exam done. I am getting behind.”

She checked his fingers, his bruising, looked at his eyes and asked him questions about his memory and overall feelings.

“It appears you are recovering very nicely. I will make an appointment for a week and we can take x-rays to see if we can remove the splints. Your face has healed nicely, too.” Her fingers were gentle on his face. “You might have a few barely noticeable scars. We can also take x-rays next week of your side to be sure everything is progressing well internally. My aide and I will meet you out front at six tonight. I don’t know what kind of excuse I’m going to give her.”

“Tell her I invited you to have some wine at a friend’s house and you don’t want to go alone. Then when we start seeing each other, it will make sense.”

“You are pretty sure of yourself.”

“My future happiness is at stake, I have to be sure.”

“Ok, well, I have other patients. See you later.” She left, closing the door behind her.

Fabien dressed and was waiting for Philippe. When Philippe came into the waiting room he took one look at Fabien and said, “It must have gone very well for you, from the way you are smiling. Was it her?”

“Yes, I’ll explain in the car.”

Philippe’s exam had gone well, too. He was scheduled the next week for x-rays, too. Fabien told Philippe everything that had happened and about their meeting tonight.

“No one is going to talk about any reincarnation stuff in front of Lorraine, are they?”

“No, her aide doesn’t know about that either, so talking about reincarnation will be off the table.”

“I’d better call Lorraine and tell him we are going to have a few guests over. I don’t think we had any plans tonight. I am so glad for you Fabien. I think this is going to work out for you. You should take my flat, so you can impress her.”

“I would rather she see me as I am.”

“Then say it is a perk of your job. It could be, you know!”

“As I said, I will check into it and let you know.”

That evening, Philippe let Fabien take the car and driver to pick up Claudine and the aide, whose name was Anna.”

Philippe had decided to order several pizzas with salads and bread since he figured the doctor and aide would be hungry after working all day.

Fabien arrived with his guests. Claudine and Anne were awed with Lorraine’s house. When Claudine was introduced to Philippe and Lorraine, they could see the incredulity on her face.

Philippe told them all, “We ordered some pizza, salads and bread. Have a seat at the table.” The table was already set. Fabien helped to seat the women, while Lorraine opened several bottles of wine and went around the table pouring. Philippe got the salads out of the fridge, placed them around the table, then he and Lorraine got the pizzas and bread from the warming oven. In the kitchen, Philippe asked Lorraine, “Are you sure you don’t mind entertaining Fabien’s friends?”

Lorraine gave him a quick kiss and said, “No, it’s good to have people over. I’d do anything to thank the doctor that helped make you well.”

They had a nice supper and enjoyed each other’s company. Philippe noticed how often Claudine looked at Fabien during the night. She kept studying his face. Occasionally, he caught her looking at him and Lorraine. Her presence brought back memories of Louis’s almost fatal illness and the death of Louis and Montespan’s baby. He tried to push those memories out of his mind. When the meal was done, they gathered around the fireplace and spent more time talking and drinking wine. Philippe and Lorraine sat close together with Lorraine holding Philippe’s arm and hand, which he caressed now and then.

When it was time to take the women home, Philippe was touched when he saw Claudine shyly accept Fabien’s hand in hers. He hoped the rest of the evening would go well for Fabien and Claudine.

Lorraine said, “I think they make a wonderful couple. He smiles when he is around her. I didn’t know he was capable of smiling. Now, are you, darling, ready to make me smile? All these saccharine pleasantries have made me want to do something naughty.” Lorraine reached over and ran his hand up the backside of Philippe’s thighs and grabbed his ass pushing him towards him for a kiss. They made their way into the bedroom and proceeded to enjoy each other in all the naughty ways they could think of.

Later that night, they were sleeping curled up together, exhausted by their amorous activities. Lorraine started tossing and turning and cried out, waking them both. Philippe hugged Lorraine, “Another bad dream? What was it this time?”

Lorraine sighed. “It was another of those dreams where we are in those rooms wearing those 1600 era clothes. I had been drinking, I think, and was caught totally off guard when you grabbed me—none too gently—and dragged me to our rooms. You threw me down and I slid across the floor. You were screaming at me something about losing your fucking money. Then you slapped me and without thinking I head butted you. That made you lose total control. You grabbed me and wrestled me to the ground and started choking me. When I said that you were hurting me, you said, “Good!” You didn’t let up and I was starting to suffocate. I said, “You’re killing me,” and you said, “That’s even better!” I managed to sit up and bite your arm and you let go. I jumped up and grabbed a table candelabra and used it to keep you away from me. You gave up and left the room. I thought the fight was over, but then I heard you unsheathing your sword, and you came out of the room pointing your sword at me. I woke up as you lunged at me. I just knew you were going to kill me.”

Philippe thought to himself, “Damn, another dream where something bad happens. Why can’t he remember how we loved each other?” Philippe hugged Lorraine, “It was just a dream.”

“Why do I keep having these dreams where we are so awful to each other? You have never treated me like that.”

“Nor do I ever plan to. Now let’s go back to sleep.”

Lorraine laid there trying to calm his mind but couldn’t shake the image of Philippe sliding across the floor with his sword, ready to impale him. He finally drifted off again and slipped into another dream. This time he was peeking into a room, watching Philippe showing an auburn-haired guy how to dance. Philippe’s hands were all over the guy and it was obvious they were flirting. He walked into the room and they both turned to look at him, but he walked past them. Philippe asked, “Where are you going?” and he answered, “Elsewhere.” He was seething with jealousy. That dream faded and then he slipped into another that appeared to be related to the previous one. He heard loud noises in the other room and when he opened the door he saw Philippe out cold on the floor, blood gushing from his face. The same guy was leaning over Philippe about to stab him with a dagger. Lorraine had run into the room calling for the guards. The man ran and jumped out the window. He had then run over and cradled Philippe’s head. Then, enraged, he ran outside to give chase with his pistol. He found the man walking towards some horses to escape and Lorraine fired and shot the man, killing him. Lorraine woke with a start and realized he was sweating.

Philippe stirred and said, “Now what?”

“Another dream.”

“So soon? You barely had time to fall asleep. What was it this time?”

Lorraine described the dream.

Philippe said, “You really shot the guy for me?”

“Yes, I was so angry.”

“Well then, you are my hero.” Philippe kissed him. “Now, let’s go back to sleep.”

“I can’t. I’m going to get up for a while and have another glass of wine.”

“You’re going to be tired tomorrow. Do you want me to join you?”

“No, I’d rather have some time alone to think.”

Lorraine climbed out of bed and grabbed a robe. He sat in the living room staring at the fire, drinking wine. What was happening to him? His life had been so much easier before he got involved with Philippe. He had always been in control of his emotions but, now, he was a total emotional wreck. He was jealous and possessive. And the way he fawned over Philippe disgusted him. He did not recognize himself anymore. These dreams—what part of his mind did they come from? Was his subconscious trying to warn him? Was Philippe one of these guys who were so perfect in the beginning, but then turned into an abuser as the relationship progressed?

Lorraine sighed and thought about Paul and realized that, in that situation Philippe had, basically, abused Paul. Philippe had said so, over and over. What about those other young men? Philippe had just tossed them out after they had been with him for years. Philippe didn’t have a good track record for loving relationships. Had those other ones started out more like this one?

Lorraine sat watching the flames and finished off the bottle of wine. He decided to go to the kitchen to open another one. His activity in the kitchen must have woken Philippe because Philippe came into the kitchen and put his arms around Lorraine and whispered in his ear, “Come back to bed. I miss you.” Lorraine shook him off and answered, “No, I’m going to stay up a while and have some more wine.”

“You’re going to be very hung-over at work tomorrow if you keep drinking. Forget those dreams, they don’t mean anything.” Philippe stroked Lorraine’s hair. “What matters is us, here and now.”

“And I just need some space! You are smothering me. I never have a free minute to myself anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way.” Lorraine could hear the hurt in Philippe’s voice. “Do you want me to leave?”

“I just need to think.”

“I don’t think more wine is going to help you think clearly.”

“I don’t need you to tell me how much wine I should or should not drink!”

“But, I am just trying to help.”

“You are not helping at all!” Then Lorraine snapped, “Yes, leave now. Go home. Paul’s not there so you don’t have an excuse not to!”

“You don’t have to yell at me. I’ll leave. It’s obvious you are in no mood for company tonight. I’ll call my car and get out of your hair. Call me tomorrow when you are feeling better. Please.”

Philippe turned and went to the bedroom to get dressed. He picked up his phone and called his driver. “I hate to wake you, but I need you to drive me home. I’m at Lorraine’s.” Philippe could hear Lorraine banging around in the kitchen. What had happened? Philippe thought these dreams were supposed to help Lorraine remember, not upset him.

Philippe was dressed now and waiting for the call from his driver telling him he was outside. He finally got the call and Philippe stuck his head into the kitchen and said, “I’m leaving now. Call me tomorrow, please.”

Lorraine did not respond and did not look at him. Philippe went out and got into the car. On the way home, he went over everything that had happened. This change in Lorraine was so unexpected. Tears started seeping into Philippe’s eyes. The hope of getting Lorraine to remember he was Philippe’s Chevalier seemed to be slipping away. The dreams did not work on Lorraine.


	21. Wine Doesn't Mend Broken Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Philippe is not at Lorraine's, who has very good security, Fabien has to install security at Philippe's flat. Fabien also hires a second person for Philippe's security since he doesn't want to spend 24 hours a day guarding Philippe. Philippe is devastated over losing Lorraine and drinks a lot of wine to dull his aching heart. Lorraine finds that it is not easy returning to the life he had before Philippe. He is plagued by an onslaught of Versailles dreams and drinks a lot of wine to avoid them. He returns to his evening social rounds and looks for a new love interest. Fabien and Claudine invite Philippe to join them in the evenings to help keep him occupied. Fabien worries about Philippe's mental health and ensures he is never alone. Philippe and Lorraine have another big fight with unexpected results.

Philippe had a restless night sleeping alone in his bed in his very empty and lonely flat. He had drunk a bottle of wine to dull the ache in him, but it had not worked. If he lost Lorraine now, he would have nothing left. Things had been going so well, too. Why did Lorraine have dreams about the worse things that had happened when there were so many happy and good moments?

He woke the next day to his phone ringtone. He grabbed the phone hoping it was Lorraine, but it was Fabien instead.

“Hello, Philippe. Will you be leaving Lorraine’s anytime today?” (Because Lorraine had very good security, Fabien wasn’t needed if Philippe was at Lorraine’s.)

“I’m not at Lorraine’s. I’m home in my flat.”

“You didn’t think to call me and let me know?”

“Yes, I thought about calling you, but I figured you were with Claudine. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“That was very thoughtful of you, but stupid. You hired me to protect you. Let me do my job. Why did you leave Lorraine’s?”

Philippe explained about the dream and the fight he and Lorraine had had. “I just don’t understand why he’s suddenly changed.”

“I think the answer lies in that he is back to the way he was before he met you. He changed to accommodate you, now he is his old self again.”

“I thought when he started having dreams that he would understand, that the dreams would remind him of the deep love we shared.”

“Maybe they did, and he decided he didn’t want to be tied down in that way.”

“There you go, applying logic to an emotional issue. I wish I could be so logical, too, and not feel these things I feel. Anyway, how did things go with Claudine?”

“Very well. She has been having dreams about me and when she saw me in that room, it really shook her. Then when she met you and Lorraine, she did not know what to think. I have tried to explain to her about the reincarnations, but I am not sure she truly accepts the idea. What she does accept is the feelings the two of us have for each other.”

“See, you are capable of being emotional!”

“We spent the night talking and getting reacquainted. After a very long and intense conversation, I dropped her off at her home. We are meeting again tonight unless you need me.”

“Mr. Logical is taking it slow, I see.”

Fabien chose to ignore that comment. “We must get the new alarms installed at your flat now that you are back there. I will call and see if it can be done today. Do you plan on going anywhere today?”

“No, I’ve got nowhere to go. I’ll just be here trying to work on lyrics and wallowing in self-pity.”

“Maybe you can join Claudine and I for supper, then. We had planned on going to that pub you and I went to before.”

“I don’t feel like being a third-wheel but thank you for the offer.”

“I insist. If you don’t join us, then I will cancel and spend the night watching your pitiful ass.”

“No, don’t do that.”

“It is my job. You gave it to me and I intend to do it.”

“Okay, I’ll join you. You are a hard person to say no to.”

“I usually get what I want. Now, don’t go anywhere and don’t open the door unless you are absolutely sure of who is there. I’m going to see to it your security system gets installed today. If you don’t mind, I think I would like to hire a second person to help guard you in the evenings.”

“Of course, I can’t expect you to spend twenty-four hours a day with me. We’d get pretty tired of each other fast.”

“Good. I’ll see you later today, then.”

After Philippe hung up, he turned over and went back to sleep. He had absolutely no reason to get up. At least he could find some peace in sleep.

Meanwhile, Lorraine also was in bed sleeping. After the fight with Philippe the night before, he had drunk two bottles of wine and had fallen asleep (passed out, really) on the couch by the fireplace. At some point in the morning, he had called his office to say he was sick and wasn’t coming in, then crawled into his bed to try and sleep off the wine. It was a fitful sleep and he dreamed again. This time Philippe was angry at him over a clothing bill. Lorraine woke and crawled out of bed. What was it with these dreams of him and Philippe in that place and in that time? His subconscious mind seemed obsessed with it.

He opened another bottle of wine and sat at the fireplace staring. Thoughts of Philippe filled his mind even though he tried to push them away. He tried to remember the lover he’d had before Philippe. He conjured his face and thought back on the early days of that involvement. How sweet it had been. But then the boredom had set in. The young man had been so predictable. His life had consisted of one big party after another. When Lorraine had told him he no longer wanted to see him, the young man had frowned, then said, “Really?” as if it was unthinkable that anyone could refuse him. He then had blown it all off saying that there was another person he was interested in, anyway. It was another wealthy man—and soon after Lorraine had heard this young man was now the plaything of that wealthy man.

It dawned on Lorraine that Philippe would not brush off the loss of his love so easily. Lorraine knew that, right now, at this moment, Philippe was probably filled with grief and heartache. Lorraine tried to push away those thoughts and drank more wine to dull his mind to them. He told himself he didn’t care what Philippe did now. He drank until he passed out once more. The wine seemed to keep the dreams at bay, but when the effects of the wine wore off, the dreams returned. Without realizing it, Lorraine was reliving his days at Versailles, although he passed it off as just peculiar dreams. When he awoke later in the early evening, in an attempt to get himself ready to resume work the next day, he decided not to drink anymore wine.

When he drifted off to sleep that evening, he had another dream. This time Philippe had returned from the battlefield. Lorraine had been happy to be reunited with Philippe. He had pushed Philippe onto the bed and removed his boots and jumped on top of him, but then Philippe had turned him over and climbed on top of him. The tenderness turned rough and Philippe gave him a speech about having an erection during the battle. Frightened by the change in Philippe, Lorraine had freed himself from Philippe and left the room. In turn, Philippe had ordered a hapless maid to join him and shut the door.

Lorraine woke, shaken again. He went to his medicine cabinet and found the sleeping pills he occasionally took when he needed sleep and it would not come. He swallowed one and returned to the bed. This time he fell into a dreamless sleep.

That same evening a morose Philippe had joined Fabien and Claudine at the pub. He forced away the glum and put on a somewhat happy face. Watching the budding new/old romance of Fabien and Claudine was difficult. While he was happy for them, it was just a reminder of what he had just lost. Both Fabien and Claudine beat him at several games of billiards. He wasn’t a great player on the best of days, but he was terrible now. He had no coordination and no concentration. The balls he hit refused to go where he wanted. It seemed the whole world plotted to make him miserable.

The good news of the day was that Fabien had managed to get the new security system installed that afternoon. He had also interviewed several people and had hired a man for the evening shift. It was a person Fabien had worked with before and trusted. He had a solid background in security and just happened to be between jobs. When they returned to the flat, Fabien was supposed to call him, so they could go over the system and the man could take over the evening shift. Fabien did not want to leave Philippe alone at all. He worried about his fragile state of mind after losing both Paul and Lorraine.

When they left the pub, they got into Philippe’s car and took Claudine home. Fabien told her he would call her the next day. Then Fabien and Philippe went to the flat. Fabien made his call and the newly hired man came to the flat. Fabien introduced Philippe to Frank Tomson, his new second in command security person. Fabien went over the new security system with both Frank and Philippe then bid them goodnight. Frank was an older man, in his early fifties, with brown hair streaked with gray. He was burly and didn’t smile much. He was, basically an older version of Fabien.

After Fabien left, Philippe wasn’t sure what to say to Frank. “I’m going to have some wine; would you like a glass of red?”

“No thank you. I don’t drink on duty.”

“Sorry. Of course, you don’t. Well, I am going to open a bottle and go to my work room. You are welcome to turn on the telly over there or read a book or do whatever you do.”

Frank turned the television on low, but he made routine checks of the house and outside every hour. Philippe did some work in his room then retired to his bedroom with his bottle of wine and crawled into bed and fell asleep after the wine was gone.

The next week passed without much excitement. During the days, Philippe worked on his lyrics and music. Fabien and Claudine included Philippe in their evening plans and afterwards, Philippe drank himself to sleep. Whenever his phone rang he’d anxiously grab it in the hopes it would be Lorraine, but it never was. He resigned himself to the fact that it was over between them.

Meanwhile, Lorraine threw himself into his business during the day and in the evenings attended parties and social events surrounded by the usual crowd of admirers. The tabloids were full of speculation about the sudden nonexistence of Philippe and Lorraine’s love affair, but by the end of the week, the headlines had moved on to other topics. Lorraine had decided to look for a new love interest, but no one seemed to fit his requirements. After socializing, he returned home to his empty house and drank himself to sleep. The dreams persisted but were such a garbled mishmash, they didn’t make much sense to Lorraine.  He would wake in the morning a total emotional wreck.

On Friday night, Lorraine had returned home after a very unsatisfying night at a charity event. He had seen a person he had once been interested in. He decided to try and get something going with the guy but had failed miserably. He was, once again, alone, staring at his fireplace and drinking wine. The thought struck him that one of the reasons he had decided to end it with Philippe was because he didn’t want Philippe getting anymore attached to him than he already was. He didn’t want to devastate Philippe. Lorraine had assumed he would then be free to be his former self, free from entanglement. But that former self was hard to find again, and it was Lorraine who was entangled in a web of emotion and regret.

He finished off his bottle of wine and crawled into bed. He fell into a very troubled sleep where bits and pieces of life at Versailles haunted him. The main thread through all the pieces was that he and Philippe had been together. They would fight; they would argue. Lorraine saw Philippe’s struggles to be brother to the king and Philippe’s struggles to find a place for himself at his brother’s side, only to be knocked down, time and again. And always Lorraine was there to comfort Philippe, to give him strength, to find humor in life at the court. Lorraine’s mind drifted from one incident to another.

It was two a.m. Saturday morning when Lorraine awoke from a particularly vivid dream. He was covered in sweat and his heart was beating fast. He knew now what he had to do. He picked up his phone and dialed Philippe’s number. It went to voicemail. He dialed again. Again, his call went to voicemail. He tried three more times and finally his call was answered.

“Frank Tomson here. How may I help you?”

“I need to talk to Philippe Orleans.”

“I’m sorry but he is asleep and cannot be disturbed.”

“This is important. Please wake him. I am Philippe Lorraine and I need to speak to him.”

“I’m sorry, he said he doesn’t want to talk to you, sir. Goodbye, sir.” And the call was ended.

Lorraine sat for a moment not sure what to do. Then he made his mind up. He jumped out of bed and got dressed. He called for his car and was soon on his way to Philippe’s flat. When he arrived, he rang the buzzer at the door downstairs. Again, Tomson answered. Philippe would not see him. Lorraine returned to his car and sat fuming. Then he picked up his phone and dialed Fabien.

A groggy Fabien answered. “Lorraine, what do you want at this late—or shall I say early, hour?”

“I have to see Philippe. Right now. And there is some guy who won’t let me talk to him on the phone and won’t let me in at his flat.”

“You went to his flat?”

“Yes, I did. I really need to talk to him.”

“He’s pretty angry at you right now. I don’t think he wants to talk to you.”

“Yes, I know. He has every right to be mad at me. I have been a real jerk.”

“Maybe he will talk to you after he awakes later today. But that may be very late in the day. He drank a lot of wine.”

“Fabien, please. I understand now. I have to tell him something that is very important.”

Then Lorraine was startled by a loud banging on his car window. Philippe was standing there, in a robe, banging on his car window. Lorraine slid across the seat and motioned for his driver to roll the window down.

“What the hell is wrong with you!” Philippe shouted at him. “Calling and coming over at this hour after the way you have treated me!”

Lorraine could see Philippe was extremely mad. He had never seen him like this except for in the dreams. “Please calm down and let me explain.”

“Explain? Explain what? Explain why you have torn my heart apart? Explain why you are such a conniving manipulator?”

“Philippe, please, listen to me. I have something important to say!”

“There is nothing you can say that will undo the damage you have done!”

Lorraine opened the car door and stepped out of the car to confront Philippe.

“Stay away from me!” Philippe stepped away from Lorraine. “I swear, I will hit you if you come towards me!” Lorraine noticed the burly man standing not too far away intently watching the two of them.

“Philippe, remember the first night we spent together what I told you? Henceforth, every day that I do not touch you, taste you, feel you, will be a day of death and mourning. I meant it then and I mean it now. I said that as your Chevalier hundreds of years ago. Now I am saying it again. My love for you is as strong as the day we met and, Philippe, the truth is, if you don’t love me then no one loves me.”

Philippe stood there shocked; the anger drained from him. “Where did you hear that?”

“In my dreams. I said it to you in my dreams and for some crazy, mixed up reason, I know that I said it to you three hundred and fifty or so years ago. You took my hand then. Will you take it now?” Lorraine held out his hand towards Philippe. Philippe stared at the hand then looked at Lorraine. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“So, you realize it was not our ancestors that were lovers, it was actually us?”

“Yes. I don’t know how or why. But we are here today. Our love spanned our lifetime then. It has survived hundreds of years and is now alive in us. I did not understand, but the dreams showed me.”

Philippe started crying. He stepped forward and embraced Lorraine. “I thought you would never understand!” They kissed—a kiss that spanned three hundred and fifty years.


	22. That's Not Taking It Slow!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe is back with his Chevalier, Lorraine. Philippe is inspired and works enthusiastically on new songs for his album with a little help from Lorraine. Philippe and Lorraine meet Fabien and Claudine where an exciting announcement is made.

Frank stood by and watched the two lovers, entwined in each other’s arms, kissing and hugging, then kissing again. He shifted his feet and cleared his throat to get their attention to no avail. Finally, he decided to speak, “I hate to break up this reunion, but don’t you think you should take this inside? It’s very early in the morning and there will be a patrol car passing by soon. You probably don’t want to have to explain to them what you are doing out here.”

Philippe, who was wearing nothing but that robe and was in bare feet, pulled away from Lorraine and said, “Frank is right. My feet are getting cold—among other things.”

“Get in the car and let’s go to my place.”

“I need some clothes and shoes. Give me a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Frank followed Philippe inside and asked, “Do you want me to follow in my car?”

“Oh, you can go home. There’s security at Lorraine’s house.”

“I wouldn’t feel right doing that. I am being paid to protect you and if something happens to you it is my responsibility.”

“Well, then, follow in your car. Coordinate with Lorraine’s security when you get there. We just don’t want you breathing down our necks. We’ll need some privacy. Lots of privacy. You can talk to Fabien tomorrow about this change in circumstances.”

Philippe went in, put on some jeans, a tee shirt, and shoes, threw a few things in a duffle bag and grabbed his keyboard and music notes and was out the door. “Frank, lock everything up for me.”

“But wait, I need to follow you. I don’t know where Lorraine lives!”

“I’ll be down in the car. We’ll wait for you.”

At the car, the driver opened the car door to let Philippe enter. He took Philippe’s things and put them in the trunk. Philippe got in the car and slid over to Lorraine and they kissed again. “I’ve been dying for the taste of your lips all week,” murmured Philippe before he went in for more. Neither of them heard or noticed Frank when he told Philippe, “All locked up” through the driver’s open window.

They didn’t stop their kissing until the car pulled into Lorraine’s garage. They exited the car and walked into the house with one arm around the other’s waist. “Shall I open a bottle of wine?” asked Lorraine.

“Yes, that sounds good.”

“Oh, and I have the most delicious cherries—you put a couple of them in your wine, then when you get to the bottom of the glass you eat the cherries and they are so good.”

“I think we both lost our cherries a long time ago,” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s cheek.

Lorraine grimaced at Philippe, “That wasn’t the least bit funny.”

Soon they were settled on the couch with a bowl of cherries, a bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table.

“Here, lay your head on my lap and I‘ll feed you some cherries,” Lorraine told Philippe who did as asked. Lorraine put a cherry in Philippe’s mouth then bent to kiss him. “Hmm, cherry flavored kisses.” Lorraine’s hands moved under Philippe’s tee shirt, pushing it up while caressing the bare skin beneath. His next move was to pull the tee shirt over Philippe’s head and throw it on the floor.

“Careful, that’s my favorite tee shirt!”

“I’ll buy you another,” Lorraine answered as he fed Philippe another cherry followed by a kiss.

Philippe, in turn rolled on his side facing Lorraine, unbuttoned Lorraine’s shirt and kissed his belly. Philippe could feel the stirring of Lorraine’s passion under his head. He raised up supporting himself on his elbow and brought his free hand up to unbutton and unzip Lorraine’s pants. He slid off the couch onto his knees. He told Lorraine, “I’ve been dreaming of this all week” as he pulled Lorraine’s pants off.

All Lorraine could do was moan as Philippe brought him to an exploding release. Lorraine was finally able to say, “Oh god, how I’ve missed you.”

They spent the rest of the night making up for the week they had missed together.

The next morning Lorraine woke up first and nudged Philippe, “Want to take a shower before I go to work?”

“Why can’t we just have sex in bed, then you can shower and go to work, and I can go back to sleep.”

“God, but you’re lazy! I suppose you want me to do all the work, too.” Before Lorraine could get the words out, Philippe had grabbed Lorraine by the shoulders, pushed him onto the bed and was on top of him. “When I get through, it will be your turn.”      

When they were done, Lorraine had to take a very quick shower and was still late to work.

Later that day, Frank and Fabien talked about the current security situation. Fabien told Frank to continue working in the evenings securing Philippe’s flat. With the way Philippe and Lorraine squabbled, Fabien thought it was best to keep Frank employed in case Philippe returned to stay at his flat for any reason. Also, Fabien had a plan to put Frank in charge of tour security when the tour started and wanted to ensure he would be available.

At Lorraine’s, when Philippe finally got out of bed, he made some toast and had a glass of wine before starting work on his lyrics again. His spirits were high now that Lorraine knew he was “his Chevalier.” The problem was that the lyrics he had written so far were full of gloom and he didn’t feel that way anymore. He wondered if he should work on some new songs with a happier vibe. Why not tell a story with the songs of love, love lost, hopelessness, and love found again? He started work on a love-found-again song that went very well. Then decided to rework some of the woeful songs.

He was still hard at work when Lorraine came home from work. Lorraine stood at the door of the workroom listening to what Philippe was doing. Philippe finished the verse, then looked up to see Lorraine standing there.

“Mignonette, that was beautiful!” Lorraine went over to where Philippe was sitting, stood behind him, put his arms around his neck and looked down at his notebook and the words written on the page.

“I was inspired by you.” Philippe looked up at Lorraine and Lorraine kissed him.

“Looks like your day went well!”

“I had some break throughs today. I came up with the idea of a guy who is in love, but his love dies.  He goes through depression and is considering suicide, but the spirit of his love keeps him from doing it. The spirit tells him not to give up, that he will be back. Then the guy meets a new guy who reveals he is the old lover brought back to life through the strength of their love.” Philippe turns back several pages. “See, here is the song where the spirit saves him from suicide. I’ve got a bit of the music done but haven’t worked it through to the end.”

“Play me what you have.”

Philippe played the part he had so far. Lorraine is stunned. “That is beautiful—sad as hell, but beautiful and haunting.”

“I can’t figure out how to join this part to this part—it just isn’t flowing right.”

“Play both parts again.”

Philippe did as Lorraine requested. Lorraine thought a minute then hummed a line of melody. “Would that work?”

Philippe looked at Lorraine. “I didn’t know you could sing. That was beautiful. Here sing both parts with your hummed melody in the middle.”

Lorraine answered, “I don’t like singing in front of other people. I just sing for myself.”

“You won’t sing for me? I’m not ‘other people,’ I’m your lover.”

Lorraine rolled his eyes and sang the parts self-consciously for Philippe joining them with the melody.

Philippe’s face lit up. “I’ve got the words to go with it. ‘Death has sucked the life from you and drained the hope from me. I am no more than an empty, empty shell.’ No, wait. Let me try this: ‘Death sucked life from you and drained hope from me.’ Too many syllables.” Philippe played with different arrangements of the words until he found one that fit perfectly.

Philippe played the song on his keyboard and sang the words. “Yes! That’s it. This is something I can send to the record company! When I get with the band we can flesh it out musically.”

Lorraine hugged Philippe and kissed the top of his head. “I love to see you excited like this.”

“Oh, I meant to text you and forgot. Fabien and Claudine want to get together with us for supper. There’s a pub we like to go to. Do you feel up to it?”

“I’ll make a deal with you. Come take a shower with me and we both will get rejuvenated. Are you at a point where you can stop?”

“Yes, my eyes are starting to cross anyway.”

“I’m going to get my shower with you one way or the other today!”

Lorraine finally got his shower and more. When they got out of the shower, Philippe texted Fabien to let them know they were going to be a little late.

Soon they were joining Fabien and Claudine at the pub. They were both beaming and holding hands.

Lorraine replied, “Don’t you two look splendid! Love suits you both.”

Philippe started in on an apology, but Fabien said, “Don’t worry about it. I figured you two would be late—and please don’t tell me what made you late. I think I already know. What do you want to drink?”

Fabien and Claudine already had their beers. Both Lorraine and Philippe ordered beer.

When the beers arrived, Fabien said, “We invited you tonight because we have some important news to tell you both.”

Philippe and Lorraine looked at each other and Lorraine said, “And that is?”

Fabien said, “I have asked Claudine to marry me!”

Philippe almost choked on his beer. “I thought you were taking it slow.”

Fabien answered, “We did in the beginning, but once we realized the depth of our feelings we just knew this was the next step.”

Lorraine perked up and asked, “What plans do you have for the wedding?”

Claudine answered, “We haven’t gotten that far. We don’t want anything big, just something intimate—probably less than thirty people.”

Lorraine beamed, “I have just the place for you! I have a beautiful garden at my house that is just big enough to hold that many people and I would love to offer it to you for your wedding.”

Philippe added, “Yes, I’ve seen it and it is beautiful! It’s a perfect place for an intimate wedding.”

Claudine was fighting back tears as she said, “Thank you, that sounds wonderful.”

Lorraine said, “That is not all—I’d like to design your wedding apparel. Just tell me what you have in mind.”

Fabien said, “We can’t ask you to do that.”

“You don’t have to ask, I am volunteering. You wouldn’t deny a designer the chance to design your wedding apparel, would you? I live for these things. I’m just brimming with ideas—but I want it to be what you want. So, you tell me, and I’ll make it happen.”

The rest of the evening was spent planning the wedding. On the way home, Lorraine put his arms around Philippe and kissed him softly. “I love weddings, don’t you?”

Philippe made that half smile of his, “Not really. But I am happy for Fabien and Claudine.”

“Haven’t you ever dreamed of what your wedding would be like?” Lorraine pushed.

“No, have not given it a thought. Haven’t really planned on ever getting married again.”

Lorraine’s smile faded, and he just stared at Philippe. Philippe felt him pull away a little. He reached over and took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him. “But I do love you and plan to spend the rest of my life with you. I just don’t like all that pomp and ceremony. I’ve had enough of that in my life.” 

Philippe did not notice the slight turn down of the corners of Lorraine’s mouth. He was not happy with Philippe’s stance on marriage and he was not going to let it stand.  Philippe was oblivious to the storm building in Lorraine.

 


	23. Marriage Talks, Breakthroughs and Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe discuss marriage. Philippe explains why he is against it and tells Lorraine about a failed marriage he had in this life. Lorraine shows Claudine and Fabien the garden at his home and discusses their wedding plans further. Lorraine and Philippe offer to pay for Fabien and Claudine's wedding. Philippe makes good progress in his song writing. Lorraine receives mysterious wax-sealed parchments.

By the time they got home Lorraine was still frosty. Philippe tried to woo him back to him with kisses, but Lorraine pulled away and walked off.

In exasperation Philippe asked, “Okay, what have I done now? Why are you avoiding me?”

“Do you truly not want to get married?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to marry you, but that I just don’t want to get married at all.”

“But why?”

“I’ve been married too many times and it never ends well. Louis forced me to marry two times. Just think of all the fights you and I had because of me having to fulfill my duty to bed my second wife to bear children. Does your memory include those fights—the hurt it caused you?”

“Yes, but that is why I want to marry you now—because we finally can legally marry and be happy together!”

“My experience with marriage in this lifetime has also shown me how burdensome marriage can be.”

“You have been married in this lifetime? But marriage for us has only been legal five years. I don’t recall anything about you getting married and it certainly would have been in the gossip columns.”

“It was before that and it was to a woman.”

“A woman? Why would you marry a woman?”

“I have asked myself that question many times since then. I was young. It was in the early days of my career with the band. She was a favored groupie of the band.”

“Favored groupie? What does that mean?”

“She loved the band and worked her way through us, going from one of us to the next. I already knew I preferred men but was still in some denial of it. She had something of a relationship going with the bass player for quite a while, but he grew tired of her and she turned to me. I slept with her a few times—mostly when we were both high or drunk. It was the only time I could get it up. Then she told me she was pregnant. I always suspected it was the child of the bass player since they had been together much longer, and my love-making was barely that at all. She insisted it was mine. The guys told me to dump her and forget about her. That she knew what she was doing when she got involved with all of us. They suggested I give her money for an abortion, but she didn’t want an abortion. Against all their advice, I agreed to marry her. I knew what it was like to be an abandoned child and if there was any chance that child was mine, I wanted to be sure it had a loving family to grow up in.”

“You married her, then?”

“Yes, the record execs were against it. The band was against it. But I did what I thought was right.”

“I take it that it didn’t go so well.”

“No, it did not. First, we were young and not at all in love. Second, I was in a band. We toured a lot and I was not home much. As a band, we partied. Then I realized for certain how much I enjoyed having sex with men. When I was home with her, we fought constantly. She had the child, a little girl. She looked more like the bass player than me with blonde hair and brown eyes. My wife and I both had blue eyes and she had naturally blonde hair. The bass player had blonde hair and brown eyes. If it had been our child, the odds were very high that the child would have blue eyes and less likely that the child would be blonde haired, but not impossible.”

“What happened to your wife and child?”

“My wife and I had huge fights. She would egg me on, taunt me and dare for me to hit her. One night I had too much to drink. I lost control and slapped her, but only after she had slapped me. She called the police and they arrested me. Her slap had not left a mark on me, but mine had raised a welt on her face. As I said, I was drunk.”

“And the marriage?”

“Of course, she sued me for divorce. She had the arrest to hang over me and thought she’d get a lot of money from me. It turned out that she had been seeing the bass player all along and they had planned the whole thing to get her out of the marriage with a good monetary settlement. The record company, however, wasn’t happy about the exorbitant divorce settlement she was demanding and hired a detective to investigate the matter. The investigator found out about her affair with the bass player. When a paternity test was done, the child was his. We divorced, she got nothing and ran off with the bass player. The other band members were mad at me because we had to find a new bass player.”

“Well, that’s women, can’t trust them at all. They’re shifty, conniving whores—well, some of them.”

“I have had my fill of so-called marital bliss.”

Lorraine approached Philippe and took his face in his hands, “My dear Philippe, the marriages didn’t work because they were all with women! They were doomed from the start.” He kissed Philippe. “Now, if _we_ were to marry, we could look forward to wedded bliss and lots of sex.”

“We have lots of sex now.”

“But I want the world to know you are mine and I am yours.”

“Who cares what the world thinks? I don’t.” Philippe kissed Lorraine, “I already know you are mine and I am yours.”

“But I’ve always wanted a big, extravagant and fun wedding.”

“And I have not.”

“You would deny me my wedding?”

“What would a wedding accomplish? You and I both are well off, there is no real monetary benefit. In fact, it could be a real nightmare working out the monetary arrangements of a marriage. Do you really want me to have a claim in your fashion business?”

“But we would be legally together. If one of us got arrested the other couldn’t be forced to testify against the other.”

“I don’t plan on getting arrested any time soon. Do you? Look if you want a party, we can throw one. We can throw one every week, if you want. I just don’t see the reason to get married. Don’t pout. I’m being honest with you.”

“Will you ever want to marry me?”

“Look, after the week we just went through, I want to take it slow and see how things go.”

“But we know how things are going to work out. We’ve had three hundred and fifty years to know that we are meant for each other. Don’t you think that is a long enough engagement?”

“We have not been engaged for three hundred and fifty years! Most of that time we were not together at all.”

“That’s just semantics. We were together in our last life from the time we were fifteen until you died. Then I died a year later. I call that commitment.”

Philippe studied Lorraine’s face. “This really means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

Lorraine pulled out all his pouting tricks. “Yes.”

“I promise that I will seriously consider this. But it’s going to take me a while to wrap my head around it. Will you give me time to do that?”

“Could we get engaged, at least? A long engagement would be fun.”

Philippe hugged Lorraine, “Can we just get through the next few weeks? Have you thought how we are going to handle it when I go on tour?”

“I’ll go with you.”

“And leave your business behind?”

“I’ll do a lot of flying back and forth?”

“How are you going to handle all the people that will flock around the band and me. You know there are male groupies.”

“You would find comfort with one of them?”

“No, but the temptation will be there. You don’t know how stressful a tour can be. What will you do when you are all alone? How long can you go without sex? You have your own groupie-like hangers on.”

“Are you trying to say it is inevitable that we cannot remain true to each other?”

“I am saying we need to be realistic. We need to see how we handle these things before we jump into anything permanent. Give me time, and I promise I will give you an answer. I would endure a huge, fancy wedding, if it made you happy and I knew that we could work through difficult times.”

“Only endure? Like it was a chore you didn’t want to do?”

“Are you trying to pick a fight with me?”

“No, but it hurts me to know that you would not value a marriage with me.”

“And it hurts me to think that the time we spend together is not enough for you. I am afraid it may never be enough. Now, let’s put all this aside for later and please, can we have sex?”

Lorraine started to protest, “Still, I wonder—” but he was cut short when Philippe grabbed his upper arms and forcefully pulled Lorraine to him and kissed him long and hard, pushing him towards the bedroom. In the bedroom he threw Lorraine on the bed and began removing his clothes.

“Let me show you just how much I love you.” By the end of their love-making Lorraine had no doubt about Philippe’s love. As they lay there, totally spent, sweating and breathing heavily, naked limbs wrapped around each other, Philippe kissed Lorraine tenderly, “Now let’s go to sleep,” and he laid his head on Lorraine’s chest and closed his eyes.

Lorraine lay there, deep in thought, listening to the slowing of Philippe’s breathing. “Still,” he thought, “If Philippe truly didn’t want a big wedding, it wouldn’t be much fun planning one without his participation.” He couldn’t let it go.

The next night Lorraine had invited Fabien and Claudine over for dinner, so they could check out the garden.  Claudine’s face lit up when she saw how beautiful it was.

Lorraine was delighted at her reaction. “I thought we could put the chairs here and the wedding arch here. Do you have a place for the reception picked out?”

Claudine said, “No, we aren’t sure.”

“We could have the reception here. We could have the band set up over there. And move the chairs after the wedding into a circular seating with dancing in the middle. The food could be inside—these two doors slide open, so people can come in and out freely. We can set up a bar inside, too.”

Claudine said, “It all sounds so beautiful! Fabien, can we afford all this?”

Philippe spoke up, “I’d like to cover the expenses. It’s the least I can do for the man who saved my life and the doctor who treated me.”

Lorraine said, “Philippe and I both can cover the costs. You just tell us what you want. I don’t want to take over the planning. I just want to make it easy for you. Somewhere I have this wedding check list and questionnaire. I helped a friend plan a wedding and he found it online. Once you fill it out, you have all the details down. Things like what flowers do you like? Ideas for the bridesmaid and bride’s bouquets, groom and groom’s men boutonnieres, mother’s corsage, and so on.”

Claudine looked surprised, “I didn’t realize there would be so many details to consider.”

Fabien added, “We really just want a minister and a few friends.”

Lorraine wasn’t to be put off. “A marriage is a beautiful thing! It needs to be celebrated! With my help it will be the easiest thing you’ve ever done. And it will be something you can remember your whole lives together! I’ve got lists of places to go for the catering, cake, bar, etc. Oh, and I made some sketches of possible wedding dresses.” Lorraine went over to his sofa table to get out the drawings. “See, I kept it simple with variations on long skirts and bodices. Are you interested in a peasant style look? Peasant as in simple, but romantic. Or we could go modern chic and simple. I’ll gather fabric samples—there’s a beautiful embroidered eyelet that would be divine for the bodice and overskirt. It comes in all white or with tiny colored embroidered flowers. We can talk more after we have our dinner. I hope you like seafood. Marda made a wonderful seafood creole—it has shrimp, scallops and andouille sausage. You can pick and choose which ones you want or have all three. She adds the shrimp and scallops at the last minute, so they don’t overcook. Here she comes now to get your selections of meat. We’ll have a salad and wine while we wait for it.”

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “You are dominating the conversation. Cool it.” Lorraine made a little face but took the hint. Lorraine led them to the table and they all sat down. Marda went around the table and asked which of the seafood and sausage they wanted. Then the salads were brought. Lorraine opened the wine and poured it for them all. It was a wonderful meal with caramelized pecan beignets for dessert. Philippe realized he had not eaten so much at one sitting in a long time.

When Claudine and Fabien left, Lorraine hugged Philippe, “Isn’t it so much fun planning a wedding?”

Philippe looked at Lorraine, puzzled, “Fun? It sounds like a lot of work to me.”

Lorraine did a dramatic twirl, “Well, some of us enjoy all the planning. It’s romantic planning the special first day for a couple.” He ended up by running the back of his hand down Philippe’s face. “Don’t worry, I will wait patiently for the chance to plan our wedding.”

To Philippe’s relief, Lorraine avoided any further mention about their own wedding. Philippe brought Lorraine into his workroom to play him what he had worked on. Lorraine was surprised at how much work Philippe had accomplished. It was also very good.

“Looks like you could be done soon.”

“With this part. Then I need to work with the band on arrangements and develop the musical end of it. Then we go into the studio and record.”

“There’s a lot more to it than just sitting down and playing a guitar and singing, then, isn’t there?”

“Yes. Sometimes I miss the early days when it was more just me playing for an audience in some small club. But I don’t miss being broke all the time. Or sleeping in a van with three other guys and a bunch of equipment. At least now when I go on tour, I do so in the utmost comfort.”

“How long before the tour?”

“First, I have to submit this to the record execs to be sure they like it. When they approve it, then they will start setting up dates. I’ll have to do a lot of publicity to get my name back out there and build anticipation for the release of the new music. It could be in as little as three months or as much as a year. It all depends on the record execs.”

“I had better start thinking on my designs for your stage clothes, then.”

“And, I have worked up a little something for your marketing music. Here, I’ve added a classical music program to my keyboard. I can get a mix of the classical music with my own music They sort of play off each other.” Philippe did some adjusting on his keyboard. “Now, this is very rough but should give you the idea of where I’m going.”

Philippe’s piece featured a classical music beginning that blended into a rock guitar solo then full rock piece then blended back to the classical. “It’s sort of a point, counterpoint, type of thing with the same melody on both sides.”

Lorraine was thrilled. “Philippe that is amazing! I can see it perfectly! My marketing people are going to love this. Is there any way you could make a recording of the rough piece, so I can play it for them?”

“Yes, I’ll record one for you in the next few days.”

“Now, for a little reward for a very good Philippe!” Lorraine kissed Philippe hungrily pushing him towards the bedroom. They shed their clothes between kisses as they slowly made their way. It was indeed a very rewarding night for Philippe.

The next day, Lorraine was at the House of Lorraine conducting his routine business and returned to his desk. On it he found a folded piece of parchment sealed with wax and an imprint of a fleur de lis. Curious, he broke open the seal, expecting it to maybe be a love note from Philippe and marveling at how sly and romantic Philippe could be. However, the words written in a lovely script were not romantic at all, but very alarming. It read, “Do not think that you have gotten away with murder. My death will be avenged!” He stared at the words trying to imagine what murder they were referring to and trying to make any sense of it at all. Since he had not murdered anyone, the best he could do was to pass it off as some sort of prank.

Later that day he went to the head of his security and told him that he suspected someone had been messing with things on his desk and to keep an eye out for him of anyone entering his office without clearance. He had put the parchment into his pants pocket with the thought of showing it to Fabien that evening. But that evening he had forgotten all about the note and changed his pants leaving the note in the pocket. During their night out with Fabien and Claudine, Lorraine was so consumed by helping them plan their wedding he forgot all about the note.

The next day, he was entertaining a client at lunch. He had made reservations for a private room and when they arrived, he sat at the table only to find another folded and sealed parchment placed next to his napkin. He called the waiter over and asked if he knew who had placed the parchment there. The waiter claimed no knowledge of it and offered to take the parchment and throw it away, but Lorraine declined, putting the note in his pocket, unopened.

His client quipped, “Perhaps, it is a love letter from a secret admirer!”

“Yes, you are probably right, I have so many admirers! But business before pleasure.” He pushed away his anxieties and attended to the matters at hand.

When he returned to his office, he opened the note in the privacy of his office. It read, “Do not ignore me. I will exact my revenge. How easy it would be to add a poison to your food. Or maybe to your dear Prince’s food. I would enjoy seeing your anguish at losing him, fool that he is.”

Lorraine immediately picked up the phone and called Fabien to tell him about the notes. “Please, do not let Philippe eat anything until you are absolutely sure it is safe!” Then Lorraine called his own head of security in and showed him the note and explained about the previous note. The security man promised that he would scour the security tapes to see who had been in his office over the last few days. They would increase security at the House of Lorraine and only let authorized people in past the public showroom area. Lorraine also called the head of security for his home and told him about the threat. The man promised Lorraine that all food and drink would be thrown out immediately and more brought in that could be guaranteed poison-free. He would also put a man in the kitchen when Marda cooked to ensure she did nothing suspicious to his food. He also promised to rerun security checks on all the staff to ensure none of them were experiencing personal problems that might make them susceptible to bribery.

When he got home that night Philippe immediately asked him, “What is going on? Today Fabien told me not to eat anything without his approval and I found this note on the floor. Someone has threatened your life and you didn’t think to tell me?”

“I thought that note was just a prank. But then I got another one today threatening to poison you. That’s when I called Fabien. I have contacted security at my work and at home to investigate this and increase our security. I have no idea who could be doing this.”

“Have you murdered someone I don’t know about, then?”

“No, I have not.”

“Just checking. I am only just beginning to know you in this life, don’t forget.”

“You would think I was a murderer?”

“No, but one never knows, now do they? Any idea who would do such a thing?”

“I have made plenty of enemies over my career, but none that I think would want to go so far as murder.’

“Yes, from what I understand you have left behind a string of broken-hearted lovers, too. As Fabien is fond of saying, a jilted lover is a dangerous being.”

“But this person is accusing me of killing him. How can that be? Is he trying to make me think he is a ghost or something? That’s why I thought it was a prank.”

“Look, whoever it is, they are certainly a little mad. Fabien is on the case as is all your security teams. This person wants to torment you! You let him win by worrying about it.” Philippe kissed Lorraine. “Does that help clear your mind?”

“Fabien cancelled our dinner with him and Claudine tonight for obvious reasons. It means we have the entire evening to ourselves.” Lorraine kissed Philippe back. “Do you know if they have restocked the wine?”

“I complained loudly until they did.”

“Then let us go open a bottle of wine, scrounge through the kitchen to see what is available to eat and enjoy ourselves tonight. I am just sick that I have to suspect Marda. She has been with me for so long and has been such a loyal employee.”

“Better to take precautions until we know better what is going on. And, yes, if I am going to die, then I need at least one more night with you.”

Lorraine was appalled at Philippe’s words, “Do not say that! Do not joke about such a thing! This is serious. If I lost you, my own life would not be worth living. And we _will_ find out who is doing this. We both just need to be careful until they are apprehended.”

“Well, my days are spent in my workroom here, so I should be very safe. It is you who go out into the world and are at most danger. If I lost you, it would be the end of my life, too. Kiss me, then let’s go get some wine and food. I am anxious to get to the ‘afterward,’ so I can show you just how much you mean to me.”

They kissed, lovingly and passionately, their hands roaming, their bodies pressed together. Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I have forgotten how danger increases one’s desire.” He took Lorraine’s hand to feel his hardening cock through his pants. “Are you sure we need to eat first? I’m not sure I can wait.”

Lorraine’s answer was to go to his knees and undo Philippe’s pants and let his hands and mouth take care of the “problem.” He brought Philippe to a loudly moaning climax. As he stood up afterwards, he said, “That was a good appetizer. Now, let’s eat and get on with the dessert.”

When the food was eaten, they took the bottle of wine to the couch and fireplace. Philippe proceeded to show just how much he loved his Chevalier on the couch and later, in the bedroom.  As they lay side by side with Philippe sweaty and panting from filling Lorraine with his love, Lorraine marveled at how good this felt. Before Philippe, his thoughts had never gone to love much less to wanting to marry. Now, that was all he could think of, marrying Philippe.


	24. Trouble Always Comes In Threes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe sees to it Lorraine's day starts out good, but when Lorraine gets to work, he is almost hit by a falling brick. Lorraine finds another note on sealed parchment in his stack of incoming mail. Lorraine calls Fabien to tell him what has happened. Lorraine's work security steps up their efforts to keep him safe. Fabien believes he knows who the attacker is. The next day, Philippe has a meeting with the record execs to show them the work he has done and get approval to proceed. The trip to the meeting does not go as planned.

The next morning, Lorraine was in the shower when he was surprised by Philippe joining him.

“I am surprised to see you up this early!” teased Lorraine.

Philippe grabbed the loofah, soaped it up then turned Lorraine around to wash his back. “I felt like giving you a little goodbye gift. Now turn around.”

Lorraine did as he was told. “And what exactly did you have in mind?”

Philippe pushed him against the shower wall and kissed him with plenty of tongue. Lorraine responded but when the kiss was done, Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “My dear Philippe, this is wonderful but I’m afraid I don’t have time for love-making this morning.”

Philippe whispered back, “I will just have to get to the end, then.” His lips made their way to Lorraine’s neck, his chest, his belly and down to its target. His mouth brought Lorraine to a delicious morning release.

Afterward, Lorraine told Philippe, “You take such good care of me, my darling. Now, I must be off to work, but what a wonderful way to start the day.” Then he kissed Philippe tenderly.

Lorraine’s thoughts were on Philippe as the car took him to his work. The car pulled up to his private entrance and he got out. He was about to enter the building when the doorman, who was reaching to open the door for him, shouted, “Sir watch out!” and lunged to push Lorraine aside as a large brick just missed his head and crashed onto the sidewalk.

Security rushed to his side, but he pushed them away. “I am alright. Quick, go to the roof and catch whoever did this!”

“Sir, it could have been just a loose brick,” one of the security men told Lorraine.

“Go check it out, now! If there are loose bricks up there tell building maintenance and get it fixed immediately.”

Lorraine was very rattled by the near miss and made his way to his desk. He called for his assistant to get him a glass of champagne to calm his nerves. She brought the champagne and his morning mail. He sipped the champagne and shuffled through the mail but stopped cold. In the middle of the stack was another folded and sealed parchment. He stared at it for quite a while, gathering the courage to open it and read it. He would like nothing better than to throw it in the trash without reading it, but knew he needed to know what was inside.

With shaking hands, he finally picked up the parchment and broke the seal, unfolding it. It read, “You really should take care of your building better. Don’t they say accidents come in threes?” He dropped the parchment like it was on fire and picked up the phone to call Marchal. Marchal advised him to inform his security immediately.

Fabien also told Lorraine, “If this person, whoever he or she is, wanted to hurt you, they could have already done that. I think they are playing with you now. Making you paranoid. But in the long run, they very well may have intentions to harm you or Philippe. You must take this very seriously. I would cancel any social plans you have and keep a low profile for a while. I will keep an extra careful eye on Philippe. Also, I would like to see that note.”

“I will bring it home to show you tonight. And thank you, Fabien, for taking such good care of Philippe. Here comes the head of my security right now.”

Lorraine hung up the phone and addressed the security head, “Cranston, what have you found?”

“There were loose bricks up there, but it looked like someone had hit them with something heavy to loosen them. Also, there was no one up there. They must’ve taken off as soon as they dropped the brick. We are going through the security footage to see if we can find anyone suspicious, but there is a lot of to cover. I don’t think we’ll find anything in them. I would like to call the police, so they can do their forensics. Maybe they could find fingerprints or something to help us figure out who this is.”

“I don’t really want the police involved, but if you think they are needed call them. Just be aware, if you do call them, then the media won’t be far behind and that will be more headache for you.”

After Cranston left, Lorraine finished his champagne and finished going through his mail. He had a hard time concentrating because his thoughts were split between, work, worrying about what other accidents might occur, and remembering Philippe’s morning gift. The day seemed to drag on, but finally, it was over, and he was on his way out. Security surrounded him and just before they stepped out of the building, several of them produced clear shields—one to go over his head, two more to go in front and behind him.

“Good god, what are those things?”

“Bullet proof, police-grade shields,” Cranston told him. “We want to keep you safe, sir.”

Lorraine sighed. At least they were taking their job seriously.

When he got home, Philippe rushed over to him and gave him a hug and kiss. “Fabien told me what happened! I am so glad you didn’t get hit!”

Fabien was standing to the side politely trying not to be intrusive. Lorraine, hugged Philippe back and said, “I am fine. But you won’t believe what measures my security is taking when I go outside now!”

“I have no idea, what?”

“They are surrounding me with bullet-proof police shields.”

“Bullet-proof! Are they worried that lunatic will shoot you?” Philippe was truly alarmed.

“Calm down, my dear. It is just a precaution. Better safe than sorry.” Lorraine reached into his pants pocket and pulled out the parchment. “Here you go, Fabien, here is the parchment that was hidden in my morning mail.”

Fabien took the parchment and examined it closely. “I have seen something very similar to this before. At Versailles. This is how people exchanged secrets. On parchment very like this with the same type of wax and seal. Of course, these are modern day items that can probably be bought at any stationery store.” Fabien was deep in thought.

Lorraine and Philippe exchanged puzzled looks and waited for Fabien to speak. Finally, he broke his silence, “Lorraine, there is one person you did shoot and kill—at Versailles.”

Lorraine was shocked as understanding came to him, “Thomas Beaumont! Do you think he’s reincarnated?”

“That would make perfect sense. Didn’t you say one of the notes referred to the sender’s own murder?”

“Yes, the first note said, ‘my death will be revenged’ and I thought he was trying to make me think he was a ghost or something. Now it makes sense. And he would have good reason to come after Philippe, too.”

Philippe said, “At least we know what he looks like.”

“Yes and no,” Fabien answered. “We three know his face, but everything else could be changed. Most likely he has a new hair style and color. Moustache could be gone or totally different. He could have a beard. We don’t have a photo, either. But I can have my friend at police HQ run a search on the name, “Thomas Beaumont” and see what comes up. I will need to look at all the security footage at your work, too, Lorraine. Maybe I can recognize him.”

Lorraine told Fabien, “But there is a ton of it. It will take you a long time.”

“Then, I’d better get started. Can you call your head of security and explain things? Also tell him that you are giving me clearance to go through that footage.”

“Yes, I’ll do that right now.”

Philippe said, “Don’t forget to tell Claudine where you’re going!”

“Thanks, Philippe. I wouldn’t want her to think I stood her up.” Fabien smiled at Philippe then left.

“I can’t believe Thomas has returned. Why would he waste this second life trying to get revenge?” Lorraine asked Philippe.

“If someone shot and killed me and I was given a second chance at life, I’d probably want revenge.”

“Still it feels like such a waste.”

“People like him don’t think like we do. At least now we have an idea of who it is. Fabien will track him down. Meanwhile, we will have to be very careful until he is caught. Come on, let’s fix us something to eat and open a bottle of wine. I hope I made your day a little brighter.”

“Yes, you did. Now it’s my turn to return the favor! But first let’s eat—I am starved.”

They had a quick but tasty dinner then settled at the fireplace with a bottle of wine. After a while of making-out, Philippe quipped, “I hate to say this, but this air of danger is really exciting me.”

“So says the guy who gets an erection in the middle of a battlefield. But I have a cure for that.”

Philippe was more than satisfied with Lorraine’s “cure.”

The next day, Philippe was up with Lorraine because he had a meeting with the record execs. He was going to take them a recording of the work he’d done so far for approval. Lorraine invited him to take a shower with him. He went into the shower, but he was preoccupied. “Do you think they are going to like it?”

“Yes, they will love it.”

Lorraine tried to kiss Philippe, but he pulled back to talk, “But you don’t know how much grief they have given me in the past.”

Lorraine gave up on the kissing and turned his attention to arousing Philippe. Philippe groaned when he felt Lorraine’s mouth on him and Lorraine thought he finally had Philippe’s full attention.

“Oh god, that’s good. You know I think they hate me. That must be it. Oh god. Yes, they hate me.”

Lorraine increased his efforts and that stopped Philippe from talking about the record execs until Lorraine made him moan in pleasure. When he reached his climax, he muttered, “God, you know how to take a man’s thoughts off his worries,” and pulled Lorraine up to kiss him. “Thank you. Do you have time for me to reciprocate?”

“I’ll make time.” Now it was Philippe’s turn to make Lorraine forget everything. Quickly Philippe seized Lorraine’s total attention. For a while, Lorraine’s whole world consisted of only of Philippe and the actions he was performing on him. It was Lorraine’s turn to feel his nerves exploding in release. Lorraine pulled Philippe up to kiss him. It was a long, intense, and very loving kiss. When they finally ended it, Lorraine said, “Too bad we can’t just call in sick and stay home doing this all day.”

Now it was Philippe saying, “Just about any other day I would be willing and able to do that, but not today,” as he got ready for his meeting.

“Yes, I know it is an important day for you. Is Fabien going with you?”

Philippe sighed, “Yes, he insisted. He and the security team are going ahead in another car to ensure the way is clear.  He also said when I’m out of the car, they will not use police shields, just security men all around me. He thinks holding the shields takes away some of their attention and gives them a false sense of safety.”

“I don’t know which is worse, being surrounded by shields or security.”

“I don’t like either solution, because the real solution is to catch Thomas.”

“And with shields and guards around us it makes it impossible for us to look out into the crowds and possibly recognize Thomas if he was there.”

Philippe got a text that Fabien had arrived. Lorraine opened the garage, so Philippe’s car could pull in to pick him up. They a shared a brief goodbye kiss, then Philippe was off. Lorraine was not going to be far behind him.

Philippe settled into the back seat of his car and patted his shirt pocket to reassure himself that his recording was in there and safe. He returned to his previous worrying and fretting. He really wanted the record execs to like what he had done and accept it without a lot of redoes and remakes. Sometimes they seemed intent on killing the creative process in him, but he wouldn’t let them do it to him this time around. He was confident this was the music he was supposed to do right now. But he knew the record company owned him. The contract he was in was air tight and if they wanted something, they usually got it.

Suddenly, Philippe felt himself flying across the back seat and into the passenger door on the other side. He heard the screeching of tires and felt the violent movement of the car. He caught a glimpse between the front seats of his driver fighting frantically to regain control of the car. Then the car came to a stop but was tilted at an almost forty-five-degree angle. Philippe’s head was on the downhill side pushing against the passenger door. He heard the other door being forced open and heard Fabien’s voice. “Philippe, are you all right?”

“Yes, I think so.” Then Philippe felt Fabien grab his legs and pull him out and sit him down on the grass. He saw the car had landed on the edge of a ditch. “What happened?”

“A motorcycle came out of nowhere and was aimed at your car. The driver tried to avoid hitting the motorcycle and lost control of the car, it went off the road and landed up almost in the ditch.”

“What happened to the motorcycle? Did the car hit it?”

“No, the motorcycle veered out of the way, spun around and took off in another direction. I jumped out of my car and gave my people directions to follow the motorcycle while I rendered aid to you. Did you hit your head again?”  


“Yes, but it wasn’t that hard of a hit. I mostly slid across the seat. How is the driver? Is he okay?”

“Yes, he suffered a few bruises and hurt his thumb trying to grab the spinning driving wheel. An ambulance is on its way to check you both out.”

“I can’t wait for an ambulance! I have to get to my meeting.”

“I’m sorry. You are going to be late. You should probably call and tell them you have been in an accident. Here comes the ambulance now.”

Philippe decided to wait to see what the medic’s decisions about his health were before he called the record execs.

The medic was soon at Philippe’s side checking him out and asking him questions on how he felt. In the middle of the examination, his phone rang, but he let it go to voicemail.

“What’s the verdict?” Philippe asked the medic.

“Looks like you have a few bruises, but overall, you look healthy. If you get a headache or feel dizzy, then I’d go see your doctor. Otherwise you are free to go.”

The driver, however, was being transported to the hospital to have his thumb looked at. The medic also thought the driver might have a broken rib from slamming into the driving wheel.

Philippe wasted no time calling for another car then calling the record execs to explain why he was delayed. He assured them he would be there shortly. His phone rang again, and he saw it was Lorraine. The previous call had also been Lorraine. Philippe decided to answer.

A frantic Lorraine was on the other end. “Philippe, I got another note! Thomas is going to try to hurt you in some way! The message read, ‘Say goodbye to your lover.’”

“He tried, and he failed.”

“What do you mean?”

Philippe explained about the motorcycle and the car accident.”

“Are you sure you are okay?

“Yes, the medic checked me out thoroughly and told me I was fine. Another car is here to take me to the meeting, so I need to go now. I’ll see you tonight!”

Philippe hung up and got into the waiting car, followed by Fabien who slid into the seat next to him. After such a great start to this day, things had gone downhill fast the minute he left the safety of Lorraine’s house. He hoped it wasn’t a sign of more trouble ahead with the record execs. He really felt he knew exactly what this new album should be like and was ready to fight tooth and nail with the record execs. The problem was, in the past, the record execs always got their way. How was he going to change that this time?


	25. Bravery Comes In Many Guises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe meets with the record execs with his ideas. Fabien meets with Lorraine and Philippe to tell him of news about Thomas. A trap to capture Thomas is discussed.

Philippe took a deep breath and walked into the meeting.

“Mr. Orleans, I’m glad that you could make it! Have a seat. We’ll be with you in a moment. We have to finish up this bit of business, first,” the CEO, Mr. Nielson, told Philippe.

Philippe did as he was told and tried to listen to the drone of an accountant, but all he could think of was how he was going to sell his music to the execs.

Finally, they called on him to present what he had ready for them.

Philippe stood up, walked over to the computer and inserted his drive. He cleared his throat and began the speech he had planned. “The album starts out with a man in love. The first two songs show that.” He started the first of the recordings followed by the next. The execs sat stone-faced.

“Now, tragedy hits. An accident takes the life of his love. He grieves, he hurts and decides to take his own life. The third, fourth and fifth songs describe that.” He plays those songs, watching for a reaction. He saw one of the women execs dabbing at her eyes and thought to himself, “Good!”

He continued, “As he is ready to commit suicide his love appears and tells him to have hope, that he will be back for him. He isn’t sure if what he saw was real or not, but he feels hope. This is what the sixth song is about.” He plays that one.

“He waits and hopes. After a while he begins to lose hope again, but then has a chance meeting with a man. Something about the man is familiar and he asks him out. On the date the man tells him he is his lost love reincarnated. He’s skeptical, but the man knows everything about him and his lost love and he finally accepts that his love has returned to him. They are happy. Songs seven, eight, and nine are about that.” He plays the final three songs and waits for their reaction.

Finally, Mr. Nielson spoke, “This is quite a departure from your previous work.”

“Yes, up until now I have written angry, depressing, sad, rebellious songs because that was who I was. An angry, sad rebellious man. I no longer am that man. I am the man I write about in the song.”

The woman exec, who had wiped away tears, commented, “Well, I think the music is very moving. I felt a roller coaster of emotions as I listened.”

“But what about the fans? Will they like this when they are expecting more like the previous music?”

Philippe spoke up, “Those fans are several years older, and I believe they will relate. I also know this is a chance to bring in new fans. The band can put on a harder edge than what I could do on my keyboard. The last album I did was not as popular as the others. I believe because I rehashed what I had done before. You people talked me into that. I truly believe if I do another version of my previous work, that it will totally fail. This is new. This is fresh. This is me. Take it or leave it.”

“Mr. Orleans, you do remember you are obligated to provide us with suitable material, don’t you?”

“Yes, and you are obligated to promote my music. Let me work with the band and develop this further. You won’t be disappointed.”

Another exec spoke up, “There is also the matter of the genders presented in the song. I am afraid it may turn off some fans. I believe it is better to avoid controversy and keep the genders along traditional lines. It would be just a minor change.”

“I believe my fans know who I am by now. They won’t be surprised. As for the rest of the world, I am ready to face them. Attitudes have changed and are still changing. What better time to address this than now? The band will be behind me on this. I am sure of it. Besides, controversy stirs up interest—and interest translates to record sales. Besides, some of the greatest musicians have been gay and were loved and respected by everyone. I don’t believe that is an issue. And I will not put out music that is not wholly and truly me. No, changing the gender is not a minor change, and I will not do it.”

There was silence for a few minutes and the exec who spoke up about the gender issue shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Finally, Mr. Nielsen spoke up. “You know it will be expensive if we let you take this to the next step and get the band involved and it doesn’t pan out.”

“Yes, but I am confident that it will ‘pan out’ as you say. The band has been waiting for me to present them with material like this. I know they have. Give it a chance.”

“Leave the music here and go take a break. We will listen to it again and discuss it. We’ll call you back when we are ready.”

Philippe was seething with anger, but he forced himself to calm down and put on a half-smile. He was good at swallowing his anger. He had had a lifetime of it with his brother, the king. He stood up and looked at each person at the table before speaking. “I expect each of you to listen carefully and make an honest and fair decision. Do not blow me off with drivel that it doesn’t sound like me. It _is_ me. It is my heart bared.” He then walked out of the room.

He found a chair that afforded him some privacy and called Lorraine. To his surprise, Lorraine answered immediately.

“Well, what did they say? Did they love it?”

“I got the response I expected. They think it is too much of a departure from what I usually do. They also have an issue with the genders presented. But the music did get to Mrs. Wolchert. She had to try very hard not to cry. That is a good sign. They are discussing it now and listening to it again.”

“At least they didn’t reject it outright.”

“I swear, if they don’t let me do this music, I will break my contract and go elsewhere.”

“If you break the contract, will other record companies be willing to take you on? They might consider you to be too big a risk.”

“Yes, I know. You would still love me if I was broke, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, I would, but I wouldn’t tolerate you sitting around moping all day. I’d expect you to be out there beating the bushes for someone who’d recognize your genius and who would jump at the chance to produce your music. If these people can’t see how great this music is, then maybe it is time you found another company that can see and understand your genius.”

“Thanks, you know how to cheer me up. I know you’re a little biased when it comes to my music, but I appreciate your compliments just the same.”

“Look, I have a client coming in, but call me and let me know their answer as soon as you can. We’ll celebrate tonight.” Lorraine hung up before Philippe could respond. It was at times like this that he wished he still smoked. He needed something to do until they called him back. Sitting here quietly wasn’t working for him. The thoughts of rejection raging in his head were driving him crazy. Then he thought of something that could occupy him. He remembered the previous night he had spent with Lorraine. He lost himself in the memories until the secretary tapping on his shoulder brought him out of the reverie. “Mr. Orleans, they will see you now.”

He went to get up and realized there was a tightness in his pants he hadn’t expected. That’s what he got for thinking of those things. He tried to walk as naturally as he could, holding his hands casually in front of him. Maybe they wouldn’t notice. He went into the room and sat down quickly. Damn, his pants were tight and that wasn’t making it any easier for him to concentrate on what the execs were telling him.

“Mr. Orleans, we have decided to give you conditional approval to take this music to the band and work up some sample tracks. One month from today you will bring back those samples to present to us and we will decide whether or not to proceed.”

One month was not a lot of time to flesh out nine songs, but he accepted it. They were letting him proceed. It was a victory for him. He fiddled with getting his drive out of the computer as an excuse to stay seated until they all left. He stood up and to his relief things were back more or less to normal in his pants. There is nothing like a room full of stuffy exec types to ruin a good hard on.

His security escort had waited in the outer offices for him and walked him to the elevator. The rest of his escort met him at the elevator and surrounded him for the trip to his car. The escort drew the attention of everyone they passed. So much for keeping a low profile. Fabien had said he had some leads to follow on Thomas and had left him in the hands of his security team.

In the car, he called Lorraine and told him about his success. He also told him about the embarrassing hard on. They both had a good laugh over that.

“I think we should go out to celebrate tonight,” exclaimed Lorraine.

“I don’t think Fabien would like that idea.”

“He doesn’t really expect us to stay cooped up all the time, does he? This is important. We need to celebrate this victory.”

“You and I can celebrate it with a bottle of wine tonight. That is all the celebration I need. You and me making love.”

“Okay, I will call Marda and ask her to make us something special for supper. She does a great chicken cordon bleu. We can pretend we are eating out.”

“I’ll see you tonight then.” They hung up and Philippe was left alone with his thoughts. He would show those record execs what could be done with his songs.

That night they did have a meal fit for a king. Marda had gone out of her way to prepare some elegant and very tasty food. They had finished eating and had retired to the couch with their bottle of wine when Fabien called to say he was downstairs and had some information to reveal to them.

They let him in and waited anxiously for his news.

“I have discovered where Mr. Beaumont lives and that he works for a small newspaper. I have assigned people to track his every move.”

“Why not just arrest him?” Lorraine asked. “That would give us peace of mind.”

“There is not enough evidence against him. What we need to do is catch him in the act. I have discovered that he has paid a person on your staff to deliver the parchments. That person thinks they are love notes.”

“Who? I’ll have them fired!”

“No, then Beaumont will know we are on to him. I would like to set a trap for him.”

Philippe responded, “Trap? With what bait?”

“Lorraine. I have discovered that Thomas recently bought a gun and has been going to a shooting range to practice.”

Lorraine almost shouted, “He has a gun and you want to use me as bait? No. I will not consent.”

Fabien ignored Lorraine’s outburst and asked, “Lorraine, haven’t you scheduled an open house for next week? An event where you usually hold a small press conference outside before opening the doors and letting the press in?”

“Yes, but I was thinking of cancelling it since you said to keep a low profile.”

“I believe he plans to kill you at that event.”

“Then I’m definitely cancelling it.”

“No. That will be our trap. I learned that he also has bought some low-grade explosives—more like heavy duty fireworks. I believe his plan is to set those explosives off nearby to cause confusion and chaos. In that confusion and chaos, he plans to shoot you and then disappear into the panicked crowd.”

“That is insane! How will you protect me?”

“We’ll give you a bullet-proof vest under your suit.  The crowd will be filled with plains-clothes officers. I now have a good photo of how he looks, so they will all know who he is when he shows up. Once he pulls the gun out they’ll tackle him. He won’t have a chance to shoot at you.”

“I still don’t like it.”

Philippe spoke up. “Can you use me as bait? I’ve been in battle before. We all know I have the ability to remain calm under fire.”

The words Philippe spoke upset Lorraine, but he didn’t show it. In a way, Philippe was implying that he was a coward, and Lorraine knew he wasn’t.

Fabien explained to Philippe, “Logistics aren’t as good for you. Why would you hold a news conference outside? Lorraine has already established the process as a prelude to opening up his showroom.”

“What if Thomas decides to use a rifle and shoot from far away?”

“He would have to buy a rifle. He does not own one. And he would have to be a good long-distance shot. He isn’t. And there is nothing in his history to suggest that he ever was. He would also have to get access to a suitable high rise in the area. We have him under surveillance and he hasn’t done that.”

Lorraine reluctantly gave in. “Okay. I will put my life in your hands. I want this nonsense to end and for that man to be put in jail.”

“Good, now we just have to get through the next week. I don’t know if he will try another accident or incident to scare you. If he does, we will be forewarned now that we have him under surveillance.”

“I will not be at peace until this is over. On a better note, both you and Claudine need to come in for a measurement session. I have some sketches and fabrics to show you, too. Is there a day that is good for you both?”

“Claudine will be off day after tomorrow. And I will make time.”

“Ok, let me check to see what is available that day.” Lorraine brought up his schedule on his phone. “Okay, I’ve got ten o’clock that day free.”

Fabien answered, “That will be good, but I will double-check with Claudine to be sure. Now, I must bid you gentleman good night.” They said goodbyes and Fabien left.

Lorraine told Philippe, “You were so sweet to volunteer to take my place.” Lorraine kissed Philippe in gratitude. “But you know I am quite capable of keeping my cool under pressure, too.”

Philippe paid no attention to Lorraine’s comments and said, “Too bad Fabien insisted you were the one that had to do it.”

“Maybe you could be there with me,” Lorraine asked Philippe.

“We’ll have to check with Fabien. I can’t see how my presence would hurt.”

“Let’s go back to our wine and what we had just started before Fabien interrupted us.” Lorraine took Philippe by the hand and led him over to the couch. He pushed Philippe onto the couch and crawled on top of him. He smoothed Philippe’s hair from his face and kissed him hungrily. They had another great night of lovemaking.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Philippe’s musical success.


	26. A Shot To The Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe reunites with his old band mates and they begin working on the new album. Claudine decides on a wedding dress. The day of the press conference comes and Lorraine is filled with dread while Philippe is ready to face the challenge. Things do not go as planned.

The next morning Philippe got the call from the band letting him know where and when they would be getting together to work on the songs for the album. They told him they’d like to get started at nine in the mornings and would work probably until about six in the evening or later, if they were on a roll. Philippe was relieved because he had been afraid they’d get up late then want to work late at night like in the old days. That would have interfered with him and Lorraine’s time together. Fabien wasn’t excited about the location for the jam session because it was in a rundown part of town, but it was difficult to find a building that allowed a band to play, in a neighborhood that wouldn’t be disturbed by the loud music.

As they arrived at the building, Fabien and several of his security men went in to check out the building and surroundings, while Philippe sat in the car guarded by the rest. Philippe knew he was going to be given a hard time by the other band members about all the security.

Sure enough, when he walked into the room, the bass player, Jack, shouted, “’Ere ‘e comes now. Yer royal highnie, King Philippe!”

Fabien glared at Jack, but it didn’t faze Jack at all. Philippe hugged each of the guys and explained that there had been a threat on his life. Johnny who played the drums, told Philippe, “It’s been a long time since we got together. We were starting to think you had decided to retire permanently.”

Philippe answered, “No, I just withdrew from the world for a while.”

“Yeah, heard about your harem of beautiful young men. You always liked to chase the pretty ones,” remarked Chris, the lead guitarist. “I don’t know how you juggle so many of them at one time. It’s all I can do to keep up with one woman. How are they all doing?”

Philippe answered, “I am in a monogamous relationship, now. He’s only a few years younger than me.”

Everybody, including the techs, Charles and Willie, laughed. Jack said, “Philippe in a monogamous relationship? Now that’s something I never thought I’d see!”

“Well, things change—I’ve changed. I am quite happy now. What about all of you? Who has settled down and who hasn’t?”

Jack spoke first, “Remember that red-head that hung around us for a long time?” Philippe nodded his head yes. “I married her. We have two little red-haired kids. A boy, four, and a girl, two.”

Philippe learned that everyone except the drummer, Johnny, was married. Johnny had been married but was now divorced.

Philippe asked them, “So, the reason we have day time jam sessions is because you all have families now, except Johnny?”

Johnny defended himself by saying that he had been seeing a blonde woman and liked to keep regular hours now, too.

Philippe introduced Fabien to the group. “I owe this guy my life! He knocked me out of the way of a speeding car and took the hit for me. He’s my head of security and good friend now.”

Chris said, “Well, Fabien, from the looks of you, I don’t doubt you are an excellent security person. I get the impression I wouldn’t want to tangle with you. You’d probably hurt me really good!”

They all laughed. It was Chris who said, “Ok, time to work. Show us those songs you’ve written.”

Philippe pulled out his drive and handed it to the one of the techs. “My only equipment now is this keyboard and a computer program to record with. So, this recording is simple.”

“Good, that means we’ll have more freedom to add our bits to it.”

“Just play it all the way through. I’ll explain after,” Philippe answered.

They all gathered around the electronics board and listened to Philippe’s simple recording all the way through. Philippe nervously watched his band mates for their reactions. He saw mostly surprise on their faces, then heard some mumbled “uh-hums”, “yeps”, “aw-huhs”, and other grunted noises. He couldn’t tell if they liked it or hated it. Jack told them to run it through one more time.

When it was done for the second time Philippe asked, “Well, what is the verdict?”

Chris was the first to answer, “It’s different, way different from what you used to write.”

Jack said, “Well, I am impressed that you actually have a story there. You never were big on stories in your music. It was all just raw, in-your-face emotion.”

Charles interjected, “There is emotion in this too, it is just more refined.”

Philippe asked, "Can you do anything with this?”

Chris answered, “Yes, there’s a whole hell of a lot we can do with this. Let’s take it one song at a time. Replay the first one.”

Chris picked up his guitar and worked out the melody on his guitar. Then he began adding his riffs and runs.

Meanwhile Jack and Johnny were working out the rhythm and beat on the bass and drums.

Philippe listened making suggestions here and there. After about thirty minutes, they all stopped playing, so Chris could play the guitar part he’d worked on. Then Jack and Johnny played the rhythm. They talked and made some adjustments then were ready to play through it slowly together. It was rough at first, and they continued to make adjustments as they played. Finally, they had a decent working piece. Next, Philippe stepped in and added his vocals.

Chris was the first to speak, “Not bad. Not bad at all.”

Jack asked, “Should we refine it more or work on the next one?”

Philippe answered, “I think we should go on to the next one. Get them all worked to this level then look at them all to see how they fit together as a story.”

Chris, “I agree. We don’t want to work a song to what seemed, at the time, a great level only to discover it doesn’t fit in with the rest.”

Johnny interjected, “I think we need to add more edge to the music. Remember our fans are not romantics. We need more raw emotion. The guy’s lover has died, damn it, he’s torn apart by grief. Make that guitar scream and cry.”

Chris scowled at Johnny, but Charles spoke up. “Yes, Johnny is right. Let’s not go all pansy on this just because it is a love story.”

Chris turned to Philippe, “What do you say? It is your words and music.”

Philippe thought for a few minutes. They all stared at him waiting for an answer. “I agree with Johnny, Chris. I want a really strong guitar line in this.”

Chris answered, “I need a cigarette break while I think on it.”

They all took a break and the tech, Willie, offered Philippe a cigarette. He told him thanks, but no thanks.

“So, tell us about your new guy, Philippe,” remarked Charles.

“He’s a well-known fashion designer and he is the love of my life.”

“Fashion designer? Now I _know_ you’ve gone off the deep end!” quipped Johnny.

“Does he design clothes for you?” Willie asked.

“Yes, he’s designed me some casual looks and plans on designing some clothes for the tour.”

“He didn’t design the clothes you’re wearing, did he?” Jack asked skeptically.

“No, these are just clothes I had before. I thought the things he designed were a little too dressy for a jam session.”

“You know, I remember you talking on and on about that guy—what did you call him?” Jack tried to remember.

“His Chevalier!” Johnny interjected.

“Oh yes, Your Chevalier. I thought he was the love of your life. Or was that just your so-called ‘past life?’”

“He was, and he is. The fashion designer is my Chevalier. His name is the Chevalier Philippe d’Lorraine. Chevalier is a title meaning knight. I now call him Lorraine since we have the same first names. He has been reincarnated, too.”

The others just looked at Philippe. They had humored Philippe’s belief he had been reincarnated because it helped their popularity. Now they were unsure what to say.

Johnny finally spoke, “Does he go around telling everybody he is reincarnated, too?”

“No, he didn’t know when we met. He finally remembered after we were together.” Philippe knew they didn’t believe him, but it didn’t matter.

Chris finally spoke up and said, “This music you have written is about you and your lover, isn’t it?”

Philippe smiled, “Someone gets it at least. Thank you, Chris.”

“Now I understand why our broken, angry Philippe has changed. You are no longer broken.” Chris smiled. “I believe I am ready to get back at it.”

And Chris did get it. Philippe was ecstatic over the way Chris made his guitar wail away, capturing the emotion and feeling of his words and music. After they finished the first song, Philippe hugged Chris. “That was perfect!”

The rest of the day went well as they hashed out the next song. Chris continued to show an understanding of the emotions behind the song. At the end of the day, Philippe thanked them for their hard work. At the rate they were going they would easily meet the deadline. And they were all excited about the possibilities.

When Philippe got home, Lorraine was already there. “You are smiling, my love! Things must have gone very well!” Lorraine walked over to Philippe and put his hands on his shoulders. “I love to see you smile!” Then he bent forward, and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Philippe cradled Lorraine’s head in his hands and his mouth found Lorraine’s again. “I missed you today,” he whispered in his ear. He bit the lobe playfully, then stuck his tongue in his ear and sucked. His tongue moved down Lorraine’s chin and he started sucking on Lorraine’s neck. Lorraine sighed, giving in to Philippe’s affections. Philippe was pushing him backwards now as he continued to kiss and suck on Lorraine’s neck while unbuttoning his shirt with his hands. Once unbuttoned, Philippe slipped Lorraine’s shirt off and dropped it on the floor. He was kissing Lorraine’s chest, now as his hands found the fastenings of Lorraine’s pants. Lorraine’s hands moved under Philippe’s tee shirt, fondling and caressing his back. He pulled up on the tee shirt and slipped it over Philippe’s head, throwing it to the floor, also.

Their mouths met again, sucking, tongues wrestling, as hands worked to unfasten pants. They reached the couch and Philippe pushed Lorraine onto it, then pulled his pants off with a jerk. He kneeled, and his mouth found the object he desired. Lorraine moaned as Philippe’s mouth began its work. Lorraine threw his head back and arched his back as the orgasm engulfed him.

“God, if I’d known jam sessions made you this horny I would’ve bought you a band a long time ago!” Lorraine kissed the top of Philippe’s head as he reached to draw Philippe up from his kneel. Lorraine stood and kissed Philippe, deeply and thoroughly as his hands pushed down Philippe’s pants. Now it was Philippe’s turn to be pushed onto the couch. Lorraine smiled when he saw that Philippe was already hard.

“Lean back and enjoy, my love” Philippe bent to kiss Lorraine one last time before he let Lorraine proceed. Lorraine ran his hands along the inner part of Philippe’s thighs. Philippe tensed in anticipation as the hands reached his groin. He let out a guttural sound as Lorraine’s lips reached their destination. His hands went to Lorraine’s shoulders to brace himself as the sensations began to overwhelm him. He groaned loudly as the orgasm shook his body and collapsed backward onto the couch as the energy was sucked out of him. Lorraine stood up and leaned over his naked body and kissed him.

“Oh, my sweet, Chevalier, no one can ever come close to the pleasure you give me!”

Lorraine pushed his naked body against Philippe’s, “And you complete me, my love,” Lorraine answered as he pushed Philippe flat on the couch and crawled on top of him, placing his head on his chest, listening to the thumping of his heart. They lay, bare skin on bare skin, arms wrapped tight enjoying the delicious closeness.

It was Philippe who finally spoke, “I hate to interrupt this lovely cuddle, but I am hungry. Sorry, I didn’t eat much today, and I am smelling something good.”

Lorraine raised up and kissed Philippe tenderly. “Marda made a casserole. It’s in the oven staying warm, but we’d better eat it before it gets too dried out.”

They untangled themselves and made their way to the kitchen. Philippe took a deep sniff. “Is that her chicken dish with that amazing swiss cheese sauce?

“I think so.” Philippe opened some wine as Lorraine got the casserole out.

“Don’t burn your dick on the oven door,” Philippe warned.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Soon they were eating their supper. Philippe ate like he hadn’t eaten in days. Lorraine approved of this good appetite, as Philippe tended to not eat much.

“Tell me about the jam session. It certainly has put you in a good mood.”

Philippe eagerly told Lorraine all the details of the jam session. Lorraine smiled at the excitement in Philippe. He had worried that being reintroduced to his band mates, the stress of making the album, and meeting the short deadline might stress Philippe back into harmful behavior. It seemed to have gone a lot better than he could have ever expected.

They finished their supper and sat by the fireplace, drinking wine and tasting each other. Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Let’s go to bed now. I want to fuck you.” He stood up and took Lorraine’s hand. He led him into the bedroom, kissing him softly as they went.

While their earlier actions had been rewarding, Lorraine was not quite ready for Philippe’s renewed passion. Philippe had always been ready to arouse Lorraine and was a willing recipient, but when the roles were reversed, Philippe had been too gentle—almost to the point of frustration on Lorraine’s part. One night, when Lorraine asked for it harder and faster, Philippe had broken down and cried, “Paul never complained. Even when I was brutally forceful to him. I took my anger at myself and the world out on Paul. I can never forgive myself for being so cruel. I don’t want to hurt you like I hurt Paul.” No matter how much Lorraine assured Philippe that he would speak up if he was being hurt, Philippe was too afraid to let go of his fears and restrained himself.

But that night Philippe made it clear what he wanted from Lorraine. They kissed and explored each other’s bodies all over again. Then Philippe asked Lorraine, “Where do you keep your oil?” For the first time since they had reconnected, Philippe allowed himself to fully give in to his desires and left Lorraine breathless and himself exhausted and very satisfied. Lorraine decided he liked Philippe the rock star quite a lot.

The next week went by without any further notes from Thomas. Philippe’s jam sessions continued to go well as work proceeded on the new album. Fabien and Claudine kept their appointment with Lorraine. Claudine fell in love with the peasant style dress that Lorraine had sketched as well as the eyelet material he had talked about. She wanted the one with the pale blue tiny embroidered flowers. They set an official date for a Saturday in three weeks. Lorraine tried to get them to extend it to have plenty of time to plan, but they insisted. It was the only time Claudine’s brother could make it with his family. Lorraine gave in and promised he’d use his influence to ensure everything was done on time. They discussed what they wanted and didn’t want for the wedding. It was to be a lot simpler than Lorraine had hoped for, but he knew he should give them exactly what they wanted.

Three days before the fateful press conference, Thomas sent another parchment. The message, “Get your affairs in order,” sent chills down Lorraine’s spine as he read it. He fervently hoped that Fabien’s plan would go off without a hitch. Philippe insisted that he be allowed to come to the press conference, too. Fabien didn’t like the idea of having to protect two targets, but Philippe insisted that two targets might make Thomas hesitate in deciding which one to take out or how to take both out.

The night before, Lorraine was nervous worrying about the next day. Philippe tried his best to calm Lorraine’s nerves, to no avail. When Philippe tried to get Lorraine interested in love-making, Lorraine failed to get an erection. Philippe, on the other hand had no problem. Lorraine half-heartedly tried to satisfy Philippe, but he was just too tied in knots to be of any use. Philippe finally curled up around Lorraine and held him tightly.

The next morning, a haggard Lorraine was up before the alarm went off and had crept out of the bedroom to go have some coffee. After the alarm went off a tousled, naked Philippe came into the kitchen in search of Lorraine.

“Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Not much. It’s hard sleeping when there’s a chance you’ll wake up to your last day on earth.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Philippe told Lorraine as he got a cup of coffee.

Lorraine looked at Philippe and said, “Sorry, parading around in front of me with that hard on isn’t going to get you laid this morning. I know you are the brave warrior and danger excites you, but the thought of what could happen if something goes wrong terrifies me.”

Philippe walked over and hugged Lorraine. “Things are going to work out. You’ll see. Fabien has planned this well, and I will be there, too. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I can’t wait until this is over. But I am glad you will be with me.”

They ate some toast and an egg, then dressed and left for the House of Lorraine. Lorraine lost himself in the final preparations for the Open House. Fabien and his men had come in the back entrance and were discussing the plans, ensuring everyone knew what to do. Fabien had shown Philippe and Lorraine a current set of pictures of Thomas, so they would know what to look for. Thomas had dyed his mahogany hair an awful blonde.

All too soon, it was time for Lorraine and Philippe to go out to meet the press. He and Philippe both scanned the crowd for Thomas and didn’t see him. Had he chickened out or changed his mind? Fabien was staying out of sight so that Thomas would not recognize him. Time was ticking. Still no Thomas. It was now time for Lorraine to begin the press conference.

He stepped up to the microphone and said good morning, then explained about his new line, his collaboration with Philippe, and about his open house. His throat was very dry, and he was obviously nervous expecting to hear the sound of a gun or the explosion of the fireworks at any second. Still no Thomas. He was answering press questions when the fireworks went off. He ducked as he had been told to do and he was immediately surrounded by several large, burly men. He looked frantically for Philippe and saw that they had been separated. Some guards were pulling Philippe in the opposite direction. Then Lorraine saw Thomas sneaking his way towards Philippe. He had dyed his hair black and changed his appearance from the one Fabien and his men were expecting. Lorraine screamed at Philippe and saw Philippe look at him, trying to understand his shouted words, but the crowd was too loud. Lorraine was fighting his guards, trying to get them to understand him, but they were dead set on getting him to safety.

They were dragging him inside as he heard three shots ring out. Lorraine screamed, “NO! Philippe!” and went limp as he passed out from fear and anxiety. He awoke in his office with his staff looking at him with concern. He was confused at first, then the memory of those shots brought him back to reality. He broke down and started crying when he didn’t see Philippe’s face in those crowded around him. He was lost in total despair, when he heard a familiar voice, “Mignonette, why are you crying?”

He looked up and saw Philippe, somewhat tousled, but alive and well. Lorraine lunged to hug him and kiss him. “Oh god, I saw Thomas going for you and tried to warn you, but my guards drug me away. When I heard the shots, I thought he had shot you!” Lorraine felt Philippe wince as he hugged him and then noticed the huge tear in Philippe’s shirt. “Oh my god, he did shoot you!”

Philippe smiled and said, “The bullet-proof vest stopped the bullet, but I have to admit, it still hurts like hell. I heard you shouting at me and in looking towards you, I saw Thomas just as he pushed my guard away and fired at me. The force of the bullet knocked me down and Thomas was standing over me ready to fire again when one of the guards shot him twice. He is dead. Again.”

“Why did he go after you instead of me?” Lorraine asked.

“Fabien thinks that he decided it would hurt you more to see me killed.”

Lorraine took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him, at first frantically, then he settled down into a good long, “I love you” kiss. “My dear, dear, Philippe losing you would be death to me, too.” They kissed again, long and hard, afraid to let go of each other. They only stopped when they heard Fabien’s voice, “Philippe, the medics need to look at that bruise on your chest.”

Reluctantly, Lorraine let go of Philippe as Fabien led him to where the medics were waiting. Lorraine’s assistant then asked him, “I take it you want to cancel the Open House?”

“Yes, and I am taking the rest of the day off. Call my car.” Lorraine left to find Philippe and the medic. He found them as the medic was prodding and poking at Philippe’s bare-chest. Lorraine was shocked at the size of the developing bruise. Several times Philippe groaned and let the medic know, “Yeah, that hurts.”

The medic finally stopped and said, “You need to go to the hospital. You may have a broken rib.” Lorraine intervened, “Does he need to go in the ambulance or can I take him in my car.”

“I would suggest he go in the ambulance. If he has cracked a rib, any sudden movement might cause more damage. Here, let me tape him up so he is better immobilized. No, don’t raise your arm!”

Philippe groaned as he realized why raising his arm was not a good thing. It hurt like hell. Philippe was getting tired of all these trips to the hospital. Why couldn’t they just have a few weeks, a month, without all this drama!


	27. I'd Take a Bullet For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe deal with the aftermath of the attack by Thomas.

After hours spent at the hospital, waiting to see an ER doctor, waiting for them to take x-rays, then waiting again for the doctor, Philippe was finally able to go home with an anxious Lorraine. The diagnosis was a bruised rib. All Philippe knew was that it hurt to breathe. He had asked Fabien to let his band members know what had happened and assure them he would join them the next day.

When they got home, Lorraine insisted that Philippe sit on the couch while Lorraine got them a bottle of wine and two glasses. He poured one for Philippe to drink while he sliced some cheese and washed some red seedless grapes. Lorraine arranged the grapes and cheese slices with some crackers on a platter. He put all the items on the end table and sat on the end of the couch by the end table grabbing a small pillow that he laid in his lap. He instructed Philippe to lay his head on his lap and get comfortable. Philippe laid down, groaning a little as he did.

Lorraine stroked Philippe’s face and kissed him lightly. “My poor Philippe! I should not have let you accompany me. I was being selfish wanting you with me.”

“Nonsense, I wanted to be there. It could have easily been you hurt. I am only bruised. I will heal.”

Lorraine bent and kissed Philippe’s forehead. Then he put a slice of cheese onto a cracker and fed it to Philippe followed by a drink from the wine glass. “You need to eat better so you can heal faster, my love.”

After his second glass of wine, Philippe was feeling more comfortable. “Thank you, my dear Chevalier. You take such good care of me.”

“You took a bullet for me. I would do anything for you.” Lorraine kissed Philippe long and deep. Lorraine could feel Philippe wincing as they kissed.

“Does it hurt to just kiss?”

“It hurts to breathe, and to move. But I enjoy kissing you so the kiss offsets any pain I might feel.”

Lorraine asked, “Do you mind if I take a look at your bruise?”

“Go ahead, just be gentle.”

Lorraine carefully lifted Philippe’s tee shirt to look at the bruise and gasped when he saw it. “Oh, Philippe, this is terrible. I had no idea how bad this was.” He gently ran his fingertips over the bruise. It was a dark purple tinged with blue with a raised welt in the center.

“Just think how bad it would have been if I wasn’t wearing that vest. You’d probably be viewing my body in the morgue.”

“Please don’t say such things! I know how close you came to dying. I’m trying not to think of that and to appreciate that you are here with me now.” Lorraine bent and kissed Philippe again, stroking his face gently.

They ate the cheese, crackers and grapes while drinking the wine. Soon Philippe had fallen asleep in Lorraine’s lap. Lorraine looked down at the peacefully sleeping Philippe and tears started rolling down his cheeks. His heart was aching with the love he had for this man. The thought of losing him was so much more than he could ever bear. With his fingertips, Lorraine gently traced the curve of Philippe’s brow, his cheek, then ran his fingertips gently over those lusciously full lips. He remembered how Philippe would groan when he kissed that exquisitely pale neck. He thought of Philippe’s bare chest pressed against his and the sound of each of their hearts beating in the quiet time after they had sated their desires and lay entwined together. He could have lost all of that today. But he didn’t. He and Philippe would have more time to enjoy the thrill of discovering new and exciting ways to unite their bodies in lustful ecstasy.

Lorraine realized he was no longer sad, but horny as hell. He wanted nothing more than to take Philippe into the bedroom and bring him to a screaming release, then have Philippe do the same to him. He cursed himself for the night before when he had been so preoccupied with what might happen at the press conference that he had the rare occasion of not being able to get an erection for Philippe. He had one now, but Philippe couldn’t take a breath without hurting. Lorraine couldn’t expect Philippe to have any interest in sex right now. Now, Lorraine was uncomfortable because his swollen member was being crushed by the weight of Philippe’s head. If he could just move Philippe’s head and the pillow just a little to the left, he could get some relief, but as he tried, Philippe’s eyes opened.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, my uh, leg’s a little cramped. I was just trying to make a little adjustment.”

“I feel something under this pillow and it isn’t your leg. If I were to guess, I’d say you had a hard on.”

“Yeah, maybe just a tiny, little one.”

Philippe smiled and said, “There’s nothing remotely tiny and small about that cock of yours.” Philippe grimaced as he sat up and turned to remove the pillow. “Ah there it is, come to play. I missed it last night.”

“Surely, you hurt too much to engage in um, a little play.” Lorraine’s face showed a mix of concern and hope.

“For you my love, a little pain just makes it all the more exquisite.”

“Really, Philippe, I don’t expect you to—” but Philippe was already on his knees, unbuckling Lorraine’s pants, trying not to wince as he moved. “Easy, my love. Here let me do this for you.” Lorraine shimmied out of his pants, then bent to kiss Philippe passionately as Philippe slowly ran his hands up Lorraine’s inner thighs. When he reached the groin area, Lorraine sat back, anxious for Philippe’s next move. He wasn’t disappointed. Despite his obvious pain, Philippe’s hands gently grasped Lorraine’s engorged cock, Lorraine sighed with anticipation. He groaned loudly as Philippe’s mouth enveloped him. Philippe was slower than normal, but somehow that seemed to make Lorraine’s pleasure even more pronounced.

Afterwards, Lorraine exclaimed, “God, Philippe, how can you be so good at this when it is obvious how much pain you are in?”

Philippe smiled and said, “I am thinking of how good it is going to feel when you do me.”

Lorraine answered, “We’ll need the bed for the things I have planned for you.” Lorraine pulled Philippe to his feet as he rose from the couch and kissed him, deeply and hungrily. He then led Philippe to the bedroom and took off his clothes. Philippe winced when he raised his arms for Lorraine to take his tee shirt off. Lorraine gently kissed his bruised chest and said, “I will try not to hurt you, but if I do, please let me know.”

Philippe answered, “The rib is bruised, not cracked or broken. I have never wanted you more than I want you right now. Forget the rib, let’s just fuck like there’s no tomorrow—because we can.” Philippe pushed the now naked Lorraine onto the bed and crawled in next to him.

Lorraine had planned to be gentle with Philippe, but Philippe would have none of it. There was a rage and a hunger in Philippe that demanded Lorraine give him his all. And that is just what Lorraine did. There was nothing left in either of them at the end as they lay curled up together. Lorraine lay listening to the sound of Philippe’s breathing. It was not Philippe’s normal easy breathing, but a somewhat labored breathing. Still Philippe breathed and that was all that mattered.


	28. The Gleeful Wedding Planner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe heals from the bruise on his chest. Lorraine jumps into planning for Fabien and Claudine's wedding with enthusiasm. He also tasks himself with finding a suitable home for the couple.

Thankfully, life returned to normal for Philippe and the Chevalier. There were no more threats on sealed parchment. The horror of the shooting slowly faded in their memories, although there were nights when one or the other of them woke from a nightmare caused by the shooting. Philippe’s bruise slowly healed, and his breathing returned to normal. Work on the album progressed and it looked like they were going to make their deadline with what they all felt was some very solid music. And Lorraine was gleefully helping Claudine and Fabien prepare for their wedding.

Claudine was scheduled to come in for the first fitting of her new wedding dress. Lorraine was barking orders. He wanted everything to be perfect for the moment Claudine first saw her new dress. Claudine appeared on time in her hospital scrubs.

“Sorry, I was unexpectedly called in to work. I have to be back in an hour.” Claudine explained to Lorraine.

“So, it will be no to a glass of champagne?” Lorraine asked.

“Yes, no champagne for me, but I could use a glass of water.”

Lorraine turned to his assistant, “Get her some water,” but the assistant was already on her way to do so. “And tell them to bring the dress right away and get the seamstress here now.” Then he turned to Claudine, “So my dear, how are you feeling about your upcoming nuptials?”

Claudine gave Lorraine a wry smile. “Happy but anxious. This is turning into a bit more than I had anticipated.”

“Never fear, everything is going as planned. Are you getting RSVP’s on the invitations?”

“Yes, everyone so far has indicated they are coming. Both my parents and my sister are coming as is my college roommate. We promised we’d attend each other’s weddings. She had hers a year after college. She used to tease me that I was married to my job. They are all very excited to meet Fabien.”

At that moment the assistant came in with the glass of water followed by another person wheeling in the small rack that contained the wedding apparel. The seamstress was close behind. Lorraine beckoned Claudine to come closer to look at the skirt and blouse. He watched her face light up as she took in all the exquisite details. The skirt had a dropped waist from which the eyelet material flowed with a gentle gathering. The underskirt was a very softly gathered blue silk that continued about four inches below the end of the top eyelet skirt.  In the front, two white silk ribbons were used to pull the eyelet material up four inches to expose the blue silk underskirt. The blue underskirt would just kiss the top of her foot exposing the exquisitely embroidered silk slipper-style shoes. The top, made of the same eyelet material, had a gathered off-the shoulder neckline with very full three-quarter length bell shaped sleeves. The bodice was fitted with a series of darts and was tucked into the skirt.

“Here, come feel this material. Isn’t it exquisite?” Lorraine encouraged Claudine.

She reached out and felt the different materials. “It is so perfect!”

Lorraine reminded her, “I know your time is limited, so I will leave now and let my assistant help you change into the outfit, so we can do the fitting.”

Lorraine left so the female assistant could help Claudine change. When he came back he broke into a huge smile. “You are going to make Fabien swoon when he sees you and we both know Fabien never swoons!”

Claudine answered, “Yes, it is so beautiful! Thank you, Mr. Lorraine. It fits pretty good right now. Please don’t make it too tight. I like to have plenty of breathing room.”

“Your wish is my command! I know you said you didn’t want a veil, but It adds a sense of drama as Fabien lifts it to look into your eyes. I have a couple of very simple ones that I think you might like. Fresh flowers can be woven into the circlet of all of them.”

She tried them all on and decided she liked one that fell in simple pleats to just below the gathered line of the dropped shoulders.

“it all is so beautiful.” Lorraine saw tears forming in her eyes.

“Remind Fabien that his fitting is tomorrow.”

“Give me a hint of what he is wearing, please.”

“Cannot do that, sorry. Be sure and let me know if you need more rooms for your out-of-town guests. I’ve got most of the hotel’s sixth floor reserved for them but need to let the hotel know if more or less is needed. I’ve arranged for wild flower corsages for your mother, Fabien’s mother, your Maid of Honor and three bridesmaids. Likewise, I have ordered boutonnieres for Fabien, both fathers, His Best Man, and his two groomsmen one of which is me! Just a note to ease your mind, I will dress conservatively so all the focus will be on you two! That goes for the Best Man, Philippe, too, since I am designing his formal wear, too.”

“It is so considerate of you! It is hard to believe that I will be married in two weeks. I am getting nervous.”

“There is nothing to be nervous about. All the people in attendance will be your closest friends and family. We won’t care if you trip or mess up your vows. We will just be happy for you.”

Claudine stepped over and hugged Lorraine, “Thank you, so much!”

“You’re welcome! Looks like we are finished here. You’d better get changed so you can make it back to work on time. Go save some lives!” Lorraine left Claudine with the assistant to help her get out of her wedding clothes.

Fabien’s fitting the next day went very well. Fabien loved the mostly all-white suit. The brocade vest of a soft silk charmeuse was the lightest of blue. The lapels and pocket trim of the jacket were made of the same fabric. The jacket and pants were made of a very fine linen that was a nice counterpart with the eyelet material of Claudine’s dress. Fabien looked extremely good in his suit.

Lorraine remarked, “You and Claudine have to be the best-looking couple I have ever had the pleasure of dressing.”

After the bride and groom were taken care of, Lorraine turned his attention on himself, Philippe and the other groomsman, Fabien’s brother. He designed light blue linen suits and solid light blue vests. For the bridesmaids and Maid of Honor, he designed simple lace camisole tops and simple gathered skirts all in fine baby blue cotton and lace.

All the out of town guests that were to be in the wedding had sent their measurements and would fly in by at least the day before for a final fitting.  Lorraine had extra seamstresses on call if they were needed. When he went over all the apparel-related arrangements, he was pleased with himself for covering every possible circumstance. All the other arrangements were coming along nicely, too: the flowers, the cake, the music, the rental furniture and equipment, the catering including a bar, the photographer and videographer, and a small crew to help set everything up. Claudine had wanted her family minister to perform the ceremony and she and Fabien had written their vows (Fabien had enlisted Philippe’s help.)

The Chevalier d’Lorraine thrived on the challenge of bringing something like this together. Philippe had noticed how very happy he was right now. He was also relieved the Chevalier did not bring up the subject of their own wedding. Philippe still saw no reason to take that final step. Things were very good between him and the Chevalier. He had pretty much moved in with Lorraine and rarely ever visited his flat. Frank kept it guarded and was its only occupant at the present. There had been talk of Fabien and Claudine subleasing the apartment, but nothing had been settled on that. Fabien’s place was small and not at all suitable for a couple. Claudine had the means to get a larger apartment but since she was rarely home, she had opted for a smaller unit. Now that Fabien was practically living with her, things were cramped.

Finally, Lorraine took matters into his own hands. He knew that Fabien and Claudine had looked at Philippe’s flat and Claudine wasn’t too impressed with it. Lorraine had an idea of how to change her mind.

He took them both for another look at the flat. As they walked into the flat, Lorraine told them, “Don’t look at this flat as it is but as it could be.” He walked over to the windows and pushed the heavy curtains back. “Remove these heavy drapes and replace them with something lighter that will let the light in. Replace this dull wall color with something cheerier. Say, a light, sunshine yellow, soothing light green or blue, or a calm cream. Or you could go bold with a red accent wall. You control the mood with the paint you choose.” He saw Fabien and Claudine look at each other in surprise, so he barreled on. “Ignore all the furniture in here now. See these beautiful wood floors and the open expanse? Think of the furniture you would use to make this your place. The master bedroom is large with lots of space to do whatever you want with it.  The other bedrooms can become whatever you need them to be: two offices, a library, a study, a hobby room, rooms for quests—it is all what you might need. The best part is that the price is well below anything you’d find out there of the same size—and it is already wired for security.”

Fabien spoke up, “Thank you for helping us to see the possibilities. We will discuss this and get back with you.”

“While you are here, you may as well check it out thoroughly. Look into the closets, check out the bathrooms. There is plenty of room for all your belongings.” Lorraine stepped aside to let them move about at will and kept quiet. Fabien and Claudine went around the apartment, talking softly to each other. Finally, they came back to Lorraine.

Fabien spoke, “Lorraine, thank you for helping us to see this place with fresh eyes. It does have a lot of special things to offer that we had not seen before. Let us discuss this tonight and we will get back to you tomorrow.” Lorraine took that as a positive sign.

As promised, Fabien called Lorraine the next day and said they wanted to take the apartment. Additionally, they wanted to re-paint the entire apartment and replace all the window treatments. Lorraine put them in touch with the real estate agent. Mentally, he made another check mark on the list of things to do: find the couple a new home together—check!

Things continued to go smoothly for Lorraine and all his preparations. He continually checked in with Claudine and Fabien to run all decisions by them. While he had his ideas of what could be done, he wanted the final decisions to be theirs. Many times, he found himself thinking, “Now, for my wedding, I would prefer…” Then he would tell himself, “One day…” and pushed it out of his mind. He knew Philippe was not ready and it would do more harm to push. He was confident in his love for Philippe and in Philippe’s love for him. The rest would come later.

The days passed, and more plans were finalized. One evening Lorraine was sitting at his desk going over the lists to see what he needed to do the next day, when Philippe came up behind him and put his arms around him. “I am so amazed at everything you are doing for Fabien and Claudine. Weddings take so much work, don’t they?”

“It is not work for me. I enjoy it.”

“Yes, you do. I have never seen you smile so much as you have these past few weeks.”

Lorraine wanted to say, “I only wish it was for our wedding,” but he resisted. Instead he said, “I love making events happen.”

“Yes, you do. Now, I have one event I’d like to have happen tonight as soon as you are done with that.” Philippe kissed the top of Lorraine’s head.

Lorraine threw his pen down and said, “All done! Now what did you have in mind?”

Philippe bent down, and his lips found his Chevalier’s lips. Philippe pulled the Chevalier up, continuing the kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other and pressed their bodies together. No words were spoken as they made their way into the bedroom. It was a perfect end to a perfect day. Afterwards, as the Chevalier lay awake, listening to Philippe’s soft breathing, he thought of all the plans he had made. Everything was in order. He was certain he had thought of every little detail and had it all handled. The wedding was going to happen. There was nothing that could go wrong. Or so he thought.


	29. A Perfect Wedding-Almost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claudine and Fabien's wedding day has arrived. Lorraine has pulled out all the stops to make their day wonderful and special. That is until the groom winds up missing.

Claudine and Fabien’s wedding had finally arrived and was scheduled to start at one that afternoon. Lorraine was up early to ensure all went well. Reluctantly, Philippe also was up early—more because there was so much hustle and bustle it was impossible to sleep.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Philippe asked.

“No, I’ve got it all handled, thank you. There will be someone here at noon to help you dress.”

“I think I am capable of dressing myself, thank you.”

Lorraine reached over and put his finger under Philippe’s chin. “My love, please indulge me in this. You won’t be wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Please let my assistant help you.”

Philippe rolled his eyes, “If you insist. I’ll be in my work room, if you need me.”

Lorraine gave him a quick kiss and was off to chase down the newly arrived delivery of flowers.

The garden was shaping up nicely. The chairs were all arranged, the floral arch was resplendent with fresh flowers, and the string quartet were ensconced in their chairs, tuning up their instruments, preparing for one last practice session. The caterers were there preparing the gorgeously decorated tables on which the huge spread of food would be put out during the ceremony for consumption at the reception to follow. Lorraine had given orders for a fleet of cars to pick up, at eleven thirty, the out-of-town guests staying at the hotel. Lorraine had insisted that Claudine and Fabien not see each other the evening before, much to their mutual chagrin. Lorraine had already dispatched a team to Claudine’s apartment to help her dress, apply makeup and fix her hair. Another team would be sent to Fabien’s later that morning with his apparel.

Lorraine decided to sit and eat a little breakfast as he went over his check list one more time. Things were looking good. Then he realized Philippe had not eaten anything, so he fixed him some toast and brought that along with a bowl of strawberries and a cup of coffee to Philippe in his workroom.

“Here you go, my love. I fixed a little breakfast for you. Can’t have you passing out from hunger during the ceremony.”

Philippe frowned and started to say something then stopped. Instead, he forced a smile and told Lorraine, “Thank you.”

“Philippe, why are you so glum today? Aren’t you happy for Claudine and Fabien?”

“Oh, I am very happy for them both. They deserve all the happiness in the world. It’s just that, well, all this fuss—and racket and goings on just puts me in a bad mood. It’s all so chaotic. Sorry.”

“But it is a planned chaos. I thrive on it, but I see that you don’t. Look, I promise tonight, after all this is finished and removed from our home, that I will make it up to you. It will be just you and I and we can be as peaceful or rowdy as you want.”

“But you will be exhausted after all this.”

“For you, my love, I will never be too exhausted.” Lorraine gave him a soft kiss. 

Philippe smiled—a real smile this time. “Thank you for understanding.”

The morning passed swiftly. Lorraine personally met all the guests as they arrived and turned them over to his assistants to be seated appropriately. Claudine and her family arrived, and Lorraine whisked Claudine and her maids off to a room he had set aside to hold them in until the start of the wedding. Claudine looked radiant. Philippe emerged, dressed in his Best Man’s suit and Lorraine’s heart skipped a few beats. Philippe looked joyful—the gloomy mood seemed to have dissipated. He was laughing with the other groom’s man, an old friend of Fabien’s, Jake.

Lorraine decided it was time for him to make his change of clothes since everything seemed to be in order. He slipped into his bedroom to change. He was almost dressed when a worried Philippe came in.

“We seem to have a small glitch,” Philippe told Lorraine.

“A glitch?” Alarm bells rang in Lorraine’s head, “What kind of glitch?”

“Fabien is missing. Apparently, he left to pick up his parents at the hotel—somehow, they missed the car you sent to pick them up. He left over thirty minutes ago, and the parents called and said they were still waiting for him.”

“Has anyone tried calling him?”

Philippe looked uncomfortable, “Well, yes. There was no answer. It rang and went to voicemail. This is totally unlike Fabien.”

“Has anyone mentioned this to Claudine or anyone else?”

Philippe answered, “No, we thought it best to come directly to you. We didn’t want to upset Claudine.”

“Good thinking.” Lorraine looked at his watch. It was almost one.

“You don’t think Fabien got cold feet, do you?” Philippe hated saying the words.

“No, not at all. Something has happened. Maybe his car broke down.”

“Wouldn’t he call us for help?”

“Something has prevented him from doing that. Fabien was dressed and ready for the ceremony. I’m sending a team out to look for him. His car could have broken down between his house and the hotel. They’ll pick up his parents and bring them here.”

“Maybe, I could go look for him.”

“Thank you for offering Philippe, but I want to keep all the members of the wedding party safely here. But you can keep trying to call Fabien for me.”

Lorraine dispatched a team to track Fabien down and to pick up his parents. Meanwhile, he had guests that were getting restless. He went out to address them. “Sorry, there has been an unexpected slight delay. I assure you things will be underway soon, but in the meantime, we will be offering some wine and appetizers for your enjoyment while we wait.”

There was a murmur through the crowd and tongues started wagging. Lorraine sighed and knew there was nothing else he could do.  The hard part would be explaining the delay to Claudine. He steeled himself and went to talk to her. He told her Fabien had left to pick up his parents who had missed the car sent to pick them up and, apparently, he had car problems.

“Did you try calling him?”

“It’s going to voice mail. Maybe he turned his phone off, so it wouldn’t ring during the ceremony and has forgotten. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.” But Claudine did look worried.

As Lorraine left Claudine, his phone rang. He anxiously answered it. It was his team saying they had found Fabien’s car and it had a flat tire. But Fabien was nowhere in sight. Lorraine told that team to go on and pick up Fabien’s parents and dispatched several other teams to check out every gas station and garage in the area for Fabien. Fifteen anxious minutes passed. Then thirty. Fabien’s parents arrived and still no sign of Fabien.

Lorraine was now worried something else had happened to Fabien. In his line of work, Fabien had probably made some enemies. Maybe one of them had just happened upon Fabien that particular day. Lorraine told himself he was just being paranoid. He needed to update Claudine but couldn’t bring himself to face her without good news. Things were starting to unravel on this perfect day.

Lorraine felt himself on the edge of breaking down, when he felt familiar arms encircle him from behind. Philippe whispered in his ear, “Things will be okay. We’ll hear from Fabien soon and this fabulous wedding will be able to go forward.”

Lorraine let out a big sigh and turned to face Philippe. “Thank you, love. I don’t like where my thoughts are going, and I need your reassurance.” Philippe held Lorraine close giving him all the comfort he could. The ringing of Lorraine’s phone interrupted them. Lorraine quickly answered, and Philippe saw Lorraine’s face light up with joy. Philippe breathed a deep sigh of relief. He hadn’t liked where his own thoughts had gone either, but he had not wanted to upset Lorraine further.

Lorraine practically ran to tell Claudine the good news. “They have found Fabien. He had a flat tire on his car. He discovered that he had left his phone at home since there wasn’t an appropriate pocket in his wedding suit for it and he had just forgotten to grab it on his way out the door. He was walking to find a garage or gas station that would help him change the tire since he didn’t want to get his wedding suit dirty. He’ll be here in about ten minutes then the ceremony can begin.”

Claudine started to break down and cry, but Lorraine stopped her with, “Don’t mess up that gorgeous face or there will be a further delay!” She smiled back at him.

Then he went to tell the rest of the guests. A short while later, Fabien arrived, and Lorraine rushed him into a room to check him over. His shoes were a little dusty, but Fabien was squeaky clean and anxious to get to the ceremony.

With a sigh of relief, Lorraine gave the signal to start the ceremony. The string quartet played softly as Fabien walked down the grassy aisle between the chairs followed by Philippe, Lorraine and Fabien’s friend, Jake. They reached the minister. Fabien stepped forward and they all turned to look back down the aisle as the string quartet increased their volume and smoothly went into the Wedding March. Claudine appeared at the door to the garden on the arm of her proud father and followed by her Maid of Honor and bridesmaid. Both Philippe and Lorraine were focused on Fabien’s face as he saw his bride for the first time. They saw a look of pure joy on his face and he wobbled with a moment of unsteadiness. Philippe put a reassuring hand on Fabien’s arm.

Just before Claudine and her father reached the altar, her father stopped, kissed her on the cheek through the veil and turned her to face Fabien. She stepped up to Fabien who took her hands in his. The minister began reading the words they had requested for the ceremony. Then it was their turn to state their vows.

Fabien lifted her veil and said, “I love you to eternity and back. Wherever you go, my love goes with you. I pledge my life to make yours the best it can be. Even in death will my love be with you.”

Claudine answered, “Each breath I take, I take for you. The love we share completes me and makes me whole. I will give you my strength when you need it and will take strength from you, the strongest person I have ever known. I cherish your love, your loyalty and your honesty. I pledge I will love you for all the days of our life, through the good times and the difficult times. Forever I will be by your side.”

The minister then asked for the rings. Philippe handed Fabien his ring and Claudine’s sister handed hers to Claudine.

“Do you, Claudine Masson, take Fabien Marchal as your lawfully wedded husband?”

She answered in an emotional voice, “I do.” She slid the ring onto Fabien’s finger.

“Do you Fabien Marchal, take Claudine Masson, as your lawfully wedded wife?”

He answered in a voice deeper and huskier than normal, “I do.” He slid the ring on her finger.

“Then by the powers vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss, Mr. and Mrs. Fabien Marchal.”

Fabien placed his hands gently on both sides of her face. He kissed Claudine tenderly and deeply. Both mothers were sobbing quietly as were many guests.

Philippe looked at Lorraine and saw tears glistening in his eyes and took Lorraine’s hand and squeezed it. He whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “You arranged a splendidly beautiful wedding. Good job, love.”

Claudine and Fabien were walking back down the aisle, arm in arm, beaming as the guests showered them with birdseed that Lorraine had provided instead of the usual rice. Lorraine announced, “The bar is now open, and tables of appetizers have been set out. The meal will be served in about an hour. Lorraine had arranged to dismiss the string quartet and had a DJ set up inside the house to pipe music through his home system. Fabien and Claudine had requested their favorite song, Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Outloud,” for their first dance. As they danced, tears flowed down Claudine’s face and Fabien held her closer, kissing her tears. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA> {click here for the song} There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Philippe put his arms around his Chevalier and buried his face in his shoulder. “Philippe are you okay?”

Philippe answered without raising his head, in a muffled voice, “Yes. I am, well, just overwhelmed by the beauty of it all. Claudine and Fabien look so very happy.”

Lorraine whispered, “Philippe, are you crying?”

After some hesitation Philippe answered, “Yes.” Then he raised his face to look into his Chevalier’s face. “My dear Chevalier, you cannot know how much I love you. My heart aches because my love for you is more than it can hold. What you have done for Claudine and Fabien is so wonderful. You have given them the perfect day to celebrate their love.”

“Philippe, I do know, because I love you, too. There is no life for me without you in it.”

“Do you think the others would notice if I we disappeared for a while?”

“Philippe, you know I cannot leave our guests even though my body would like nothing more than to join with yours right now.” Lorraine sighed in frustration.

“Then I will wait. I think people are starting to stare at us.”

“Let them stare.” Lorraine put his hand in the hair at the back of Philippe’s head and kissed him hungrily. “There, that is a promise of what is to come later tonight.” Then they were startled by the sound of clapping and realized all the guests were clapping for them, including Fabien and Claudine.

Fabien and Claudine both had a glass of champagne and they raised their glasses as Fabien announced, “I would like to make a toast to the two people who made this wedding happen. Here’s to my good friend Philippe and the always amazing Lorraine!” The crowd held up their glasses and cheered.

The DJ put on an upbeat dance song and the party started in earnest. Philippe and Lorraine were nearly inseparable throughout the night’s festivities. As promised, the dinner started an hour later, which was a good thing because the liquor had flowed, and the guests were in need of some solid food. The choices had been prime rib, lobster tails, lemon-garlic chicken, or mini vegan stuffed eggplants. The guests were wowed by the food. Lorraine had pulled out all the stops.

Then it came time to cut the beautiful wedding cake encrusted with sugared violets. Everything went smoothly with the cake cutting until Claudine decided to stuff the whole piece into Fabien’s face. That made Fabien retaliate, and both wound up with cake on their faces and the guests all laughing.

Soon, Fabien and Claudine were saying their goodbyes as they headed out for their honeymoon. They both had wanted to spend their time at a small mountain retreat where they had plenty of privacy and could take hikes and walks to enjoy the outdoors.

As the guests departed, they all made their way over to Lorraine and Philippe to compliment them on a wonderful day. As Lorraine closed the door on the last guest, Philippe grabbed him from behind and kissed his neck. “I thought they were never going to all leave,” Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear. Philippe’s hands slid down to the waist of Lorraine’s pants and started to unbutton and unzip his pants.

“Whoa, hold on there, Philippe. Easy on the clothes. Let’s remove them carefully.”

“I don’t care how we remove our clothes, I just want you naked. Now.”

Lorraine turned around and began carefully removing Philippe’s jacket and his vest. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt and slowly slid it off him. Then he unbuttoned and unzipped Philippe’s pants and gently pulled them down, followed by his underwear. Then he repeated the process on himself. Philippe reached out to him and Lorraine held his hand out to stop him. Lorraine then gathered all the clothes and draped them carefully over the couch. Then he walked up to Philippe and put his arms around his neck and pressed his naked body against Philippe’s as he kissed him deeply. Philippe responded by pushing his Chevalier towards the bedroom. He had no time for gentleness because his needs were urgent. He threw Lorraine onto the bed, then jumped on top of him. His mouth attacked his Chevalier’s neck, sucking, licking, biting. The Chevalier gave himself up to Philippe’s attack. Philippe’s hand grabbed the Chevalier by the hair at the back of his neck and pushed the Chevalier’s face into his. They kissed, desperately, hungrily, tongues entwined, lips sucking. Philippe trapped Chevalier’s naked body with his own, while his free hand groped and kneaded the Chevalier’s firm ass. The Chevalier responded by wrapping his legs around Philippe’s. Philippe was now working his way down the Chevalier’s body. He sucked on his neck, his chest, then managed to free his legs so he could raise onto his knees, straddling the Chevalier who didn’t resist. When Philippe kissed the Chevalier’s belly, the Chevalier arched his back while pulling Philippe down by the shoulders. The Chevalier was hard and ready for Philippe as Philippe sucked and licked his way downward. The Chevalier was aching for the feel of Philippe’s lips on him, but Philippe was toying with him, teasing him. He ran his hands up and down the Chevalier’s inner thighs, coming close to, but avoiding, the Chevalier’s swollen member.

Finally, the Chevalier could stand no more and shouted, “Damn it, Philippe, suck me already!”

Philippe kissed and sucked his way up the Chevalier’s inner thigh.

“I’m begging you, please. No more teasing.”

“Since you asked so nicely, then.” The Chevalier moaned loudly, “Oh, god, yes” as Philippe’s lips found their target. Philippe made the Chevalier moan and cry out until he lay spent and breathing heavily.

“I don’t know what got into you, but that was amazing.”

Philippe kissed the Chevalier, still hungry for more. He whispered in the Chevalier’s ear, “I want to fuck you tonight,” bit his earlobe then his neck.

The Chevalier answered with, “You know where the oil is, and you’ve got me pinned down right now.”

Philippe pulled himself to his knees still straddling the Chevalier and reached over to the nightstand to pull out the bottle of scented oil. “Are you ready for this?” he asked the Chevalier.

“Always,” was the answer. Philippe moved to one side of the Chevalier.

“Roll over!” he commanded of the Chevalier who did as commanded.

Philippe put his hands on the Chevalier’s shoulders and bit the back of his neck. His hands kneaded the Chevalier’s neck working their way down to the small of his back, which he kissed and sucked. His hands gently caressed both of Chevalier’s buttocks, then with a sudden move, he slapped Chevalier’s butt hard, eliciting a surprised “Ow! Easy there!” as the Chevalier recoiled.

Then Philippe poured some oil onto the Chevalier’s buttocks and began rubbing, working it in to his crack until his finger found his hole. Again, the Chevalier flinched as Philippe’s oiled fingers penetrated his hole.

“Stop being lazy, get up on your knees.” Philippe lifted the Chevalier by the hips to help him to his knees.

Philippe sat back and poured some oil on his own cock and balls and rubbed it in, then his hands went back to Lorraine’s ass to work first one, then a second oiled finger into the hole. Philippe leaned onto the Chevalier’s back and whispered into the Chevalier’s ear, “Are you ready?”

The Chevalier answered, “Yes,” then groaned as Philippe’s cock just penetrated his hole.

“Is that good?” Philippe asked.

The Chevalier answered, “Yes. Very.”

“Do you want more of it?”

“God please, yes.”

Philippe moved slow and gently at first, until he was sure he wouldn’t hurt the Chevalier. Then he released the animal inside himself. Before he was finished, both he and the Chevalier were crying out in ecstasy. After their final releases, Philippe collapsed on top of the Chevalier, too exhausted to move, still breathing heavily from the exertion. Philippe finally found the strength to roll off the Chevalier. Freed from the weight of Philippe’s body on his, the Chevalier rolled onto his back moving into the arms of Philippe.

“My god, Philippe, that was amazing. I know you’ve felt uncomfortable doing that because of Paul, but what changed your mind tonight?”

Philippe was quiet for a while and the Chevalier was afraid he might have made a mistake bringing it up.

Philippe finally answered, “It just felt like the right time to let go of my guilt over what I did to Paul. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

The Chevalier was emphatic, “Oh, god no. You can do that to me anytime you want.”

Again, there was more silence from Philippe.

He finally spoke up, “It was a beautiful day wasn’t it?” Then Philippe nuzzled, then kissed the Chevalier’s neck. “And it had a perfect ending.”


	30. The Music Is Just Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As life goes back to normal after Fabien and Claudine's wedding, Lorraine suspects guilt at not wanting to marry is fueling Philippe's new passion during sex. Philippe and the band work hard to complete their new album, and after a week of intense work, late nights and early mornings, the album is complete and presented to the record execs for approval. Philippe plans a special celebration for him and Lorraine after the album is approved.

After Fabien and Claudine’s wedding, daily life settled into a routine for Philippe and Lorraine. They started their day off with a morning shower together that, more often than not, turned into a little early morning “present” to each other to get them through the day. Lorraine went off to his design house and Philippe joined his band. They were making great progress on the album and expected to be done before the month deadline. Evenings, Philippe and Lorraine would share a quiet dinner followed by a peaceful night, talking and enjoying each other while they drank wine and stared at the fireplace. They ended each day in each other’s arms, exploring what two people could do to pleasure each other. Lorraine was surprised each night by the passion in Philippe’s love-making. Something had been released in Philippe and he didn’t seem to be able to get enough of his Chevalier with a need and urgency that almost worried Lorraine—except he was enjoying it too much.

Fabien and Claudine returned from their honeymoon. They signed the sublease on Philippe’s flat and were staying in Claudine’s apartment while the changes were made to the flat. Philippe noticed that Fabien smiled much more often than he had ever done before. Life with Claudine had opened up a whole new side of Fabien, and it was good.

While marriage to Philippe was often on Lorraine’s mind, he never mentioned it. He knew if Philippe ever felt comfortable with the idea he would speak up. Meanwhile, Lorraine had no reason to complain and often wondered if Philippe’s passion wasn’t, at least a little, inspired by guilt over not wanting to get married and, an attempt to make Lorraine as happy as possible. Whatever Philippe’s reasons, he was making his Chevalier very happy.

Then came the day Philippe and the band presented the album to the record execs. They had spent the week before working long hours mixing and tweaking the music, then starting the process over again. They wanted it perfect. That week, Lorraine didn’t see much of Philippe at all. He’d come stumbling home at one or two in the morning, tired and exhausted, and was up and out the door by eight the next morning. At first, Lorraine was a little concerned, worried that Philippe could possibly be slipping into old drug habits. But Philippe didn’t appear stoned or high, just totally exhausted. The hardest part was they had not made love all week long. Philippe had tried one night but was too exhausted and apologized to Lorraine. He promised him he would make it up to him after they presented the album to the record execs.

Lorraine was glad the day was finally here, but also worried about Philippe’s state of mind if the reaction from the record execs wasn’t positive. Philippe had put a good part of himself into this music and failure would be very difficult. That morning, Philippe had stopped on his way out the door to give Lorraine a good, long and deep kiss. “Keep tonight open. I have a special celebration in mind for us tonight.”

Lorraine hoped it included a lot of sex, and told Philippe, “Text me as soon as you get out of the meeting! I want to know how it went!” Philippe promised he would.

Sure enough, at eleven that morning, Lorraine received a text from Philippe. It was short and sweet: “They approved the album. Remember tonight, don’t be late.”

Lorraine wondered if he’d come home to a naked, horny, Philippe. Lorraine wouldn’t mind that at all. He couldn’t get that image out of his mind for the rest of the day. He made sure he made it home at his normal quitting time.

As Lorraine got out of his car and opened the door to his house, he wasn’t sure what to expect. The first thing he noticed was that the lights were dim and there were candles glowing softly. Then there was Philippe. He was dressed in one of the formal suits Lorraine had designed for him. He stepped forward and took Lorraine into his arms and kissed him deeply. When he finally let Lorraine go, Lorraine sniffed the air. He was smelling something good.

“I had Marda fix your favorite, seafood lasagna. Now go get comfortable.”

“Comfortable? Should I put on a suit, too?”

“It won’t be necessary. You worked all day. Get comfortable.”

Lorraine did as he was told, washing his face and freshening himself up, but quickly. He didn’t want the food to get cold, or Philippe to get bored. When he came back out into the living room, Philippe’s new music was playing softly in the background. Philippe led him to the table and sat him down. He had opened some champagne and poured Lorraine a glass and filled his own. Lorraine took a sip as Philippe went to the kitchen to get their salads. That was some good champagne! Lorraine took another sip of the champagne then looked at the bottle that Philippe had put into an iced bucket. His eyes popped when he saw that it was a 2006 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon. That was about $500 a bottle!

Philippe put down the salads and sat beside his Chevalier. “Is the champagne good?” Philippe asked as he sipped his own glass.

“Philippe, it is more than good! You shouldn’t have!”

“Only the best for you tonight.” The salad was a chilled wine-poached pear atop baby greens and sprinkled with walnuts. It had a light citrusy dressing.

“This salad is really good, Philippe. You really pulled out all the stops, tonight.”

Philippe responded, “Marda did all the work, I just told her what I wanted.”

The lasagna was also very good as was the dessert of a chilled zabaglione and fresh berries. Philippe went back into the kitchen and brought out a small tray covered with a metal dome.

“Philippe, I couldn’t eat another thing.” Lorraine protested but was puzzled when Philippe went down on one knee in front of him. Philippe uncovered the tray, revealing a small velvet box. Lorraine suddenly realized what was happening, but had a hard time wrapping his mind around it, staring at Philippe in shock.

Philippe opened the box and took out the ring. It was a beautiful ruby surrounded by diamonds. Lorraine couldn’t believe this was happening. Philippe took his Chevalier’s left hand. “Will you marry me, Chevalier Philippe d’Lorraine? You own my heart and soul and I want to spend eternity with you.”

The Chevalier’s eyes teared up and his throat was so dry he couldn’t talk. Philippe was looking expectantly at him, still holding his hand. Lorraine grabbed his glass and took a swig of water that moistened his mouth enough for him to speak. “Yes, of course, I will! If you are absolutely sure you want this.”

“We can negotiate over the actual wedding later, but, yes, I want to marry you. I want the whole world to know how much we love each other.” Philippe slipped the ring onto his Chevalier’s hand.

Tears rolled down Lorraine’s face as Philippe stood up to kiss him. After a long kiss, Philippe told his Chevalier, “We will need to have a little engagement celebration with our closest friends to let them in on the news.”

“Philippe, what made you change your mind? I thought you were against marriage?”

Philippe sighed. “You know I have had bad luck with marriage, but as you told me before, those were all marriages to women and to women I didn’t particularly love. After I saw what happens with a marriage between two people who truly love each other, I realized I was being foolish. There is never going to be anyone I love as much as I love you. If there ever was a marriage that was meant to be, it is ours. My only request is that the ceremony be kept relatively small.”

“And what does relatively small mean to you?”

“Twenty or so guests, I think.”

“How about thirty? That’s fifteen guests for each of us. You’ve got what five people in the band? Add your mother and brother, Fabien and Claudine. That’s already nine people for you. Think of all the people I know. It will be hard for me to narrow it down to just fifteen, but I will.”

“Oh, okay, thirty, then. Don’t make me regret this decision!”

Lorraine kissed Philippe, “No, I will make sure you never regret this decision. I will spend the rest of my life making you happy. And may I say how handsome you look tonight?”

“Thank you. Now, can we blow out all these candles, put away this food and go to the bedroom? It’s been a long week without any sex and you won’t believe how bad I need you.”

“You can’t need me anymore than I need you. Just one more thing.”

“What?”

“I will need to get you an engagement ring, too. We’ll have to go shopping for one. Can you make time for that?”

“I’ve already thought of that. What about one just like yours?”

“That’s a great idea. Rubies are the gemstone of power, passion and love. You picked a perfect stone.”

Philippe was already cleaning the table and Lorraine got up to help. When the last candle was blown out, Lorraine kissed Philippe eagerly, their tongues entwining. Lorraine’s hands were unbuttoning Philippe’s shirt, then slipped shirt and suit jacket off in one move. Philippe’s hands were the first to find Lorraine’s pants and made quick work undoing them and slid the pants going to his knees as he did so. Lorraine moaned as Philippe’s mouth found their target. After a week of waiting, he was quick to respond and find release. They moved into the bedroom. They made up for a week without in the hours that followed. Philippe was insatiable. Several times, Lorraine lay newly satisfied and drifting off into sleep only to find Philippe on top of him again. Lorraine marveled how quickly his body responded to Philippe’s touch. With all the men he had dated over the years (and there had been many) no one could compare to Philippe. Philippe knew what touch would revive him when he thought he was totally spent. Philippe led him into ecstasy again and again and again. Of course, he had to reciprocate. Now Philippe was laying on top of his Chevalier, his heavy breathing growing slower as he drifted into sleep. Lorraine lay underneath him, every nerve ending firing off after repeated arousals. It appeared that Philippe had finally worn himself out.

Lorraine thought about the monumental events of the night. He and Philippe were going to get married. He really had thought it would never happen. Not because he didn’t believe Philippe truly loved him, but because Philippe was so dead set against it. He knew Philippe had had a hard life; that love had been missing for most of it. Philippe didn’t trust love because he had been betrayed so many times. No one had truly loved Philippe until Lorraine stepped into the picture. But that was this life. The one before, they had been lovers for life. Once Lorraine remembered that love, seeing bits and pieces of it in all the many dreams, it made sense. Still, the damage of this life was there to reckon with and Lorraine had been unsure whether the past life’s love would be enough to overcome the heartaches of this life. Tonight marked the triumph of the love they had for each other. Lorraine drifted into sleep, happiness swelling inside him. In the mists of sleep, Lorraine felt Philippe roll off him and snuggle in beside him. Everything was as it should be.

 


	31. Engagement Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe decide to have a few friends over for dinner and drinks to tell them about the engagement. Philippe calls Louis to tell him and asks him to pass the news on to their mother, but Louis insists Philippe tell her in person. Philippe and Lorraine go to Rouen where Lorraine meets Philippe's mother. She is excited to hear about the wedding and they promise they won't get married until she is able to attend. Philippe still does not feel comfortable around his mother. They have their little party and tell their closest friends about the engagement. They realize they need to decide on a place to spend their honeymoon.

The next evening, Philippe and Lorraine discussed who to invite to their engagement party. Fabien and Claudine topped the list. Lorraine wanted to invite his assistant, Leo, who had been with him for ten years and did an excellent job of taking some of the burden of running the design house.

“What about your mom and Louie? Shouldn’t you invite them?”

“Yes, I suppose I should. I’m not sure if my mother is well enough.”

“You haven’t gone to see her, have you?

“No, I guess I am as bad a son as she is a mother.”

“Really, Philippe, you need to forgive her. She thought she was making the best decision for you.”

“You can’t understand how I feel. Yes, I will invite them, but let us not talk about that part of my life.”

“But if we don’t talk about it, how can I understand?”

Philippe put on his stubborn face. “I don’t want to talk about it now. Maybe someday, but not now.”

Lorraine knew not to push it. “Do you want to invite your band mates?”

“No, not to the engagement party. I’ll just tell them next time we get together. I will invite them and their wives to the wedding, though. And I think that will just about fill up my part of the wedding guest list.”

Lorraine said, “I thought about asking my parents and my brother, but it is so far for them to come for both events. I think they may just want to be here for the wedding.”

“Good, so the engagement party will be small. Let’s just call it a dinner with drinks, not a party. You get too carried away with parties.”

When they had their list prepared, Philippe made the call to Louis.

After the hellos were made, Louis said, “I get the feeling this isn’t just a ‘how are you doing call.’ What’s up?”

“Several things. First, the record company approved our material. We start next week mixing the final tracks, so it can be sent to production. The execs gave me a larger than expected advance, so they must be impressed.”

“It’s good to hear you’ve been working and not just moping around.  Congrats on the new material. What else?”

Philippe hesitated, not sure how to break the news to his brother since Louis wasn’t overly fond of the Chevalier. “The Chevalier and I are getting married.”

“That designer, Lorraine, and you are getting married?”

“Yes, I asked him last night. He remembers everything about Versailles, now. I have my Chevalier back.”

“ _You_ asked him? Guess I always figured it would be the other way around. But if he makes you happy, then I am glad for you both. When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t set a date, yet, but sometime before I go on tour. Will you do me a favor and tell our mother, too.”

“No, I won’t do that. You have to come visit her and tell her yourself. Bring that boyfriend with you. It’s about time you took some responsibility as a son.”

“Maybe in twenty-eight years I might feel like it.”

“Philippe grow up. Stop acting like a child. Forgive her and let her be your mother and you be her son.”

“Things are always simple for you, aren’t they? Look, I just thought I’d call and let you know. Didn’t realize you’d be so pissy about it.”

“I’m not the one getting pissed off, you are, brother. All I said is you need to come and see your mother like you promised and tell her your news in person.”

Philippe realized he wasn’t going to win that argument, so he changed the subject. “How is she doing? Is she better?”

“Yes. She’s getting better but not very fast. A visit from you would mean the world to her. And, no, I’m not paying you to visit her.”

“I didn’t say I wanted money and I am offended. I only took the money before because I really needed it and you two were strangers to me. Things are different, now.”

“Sorry, I did not mean to offend you. Can’t you find an afternoon or morning to come visit? Mornings are better for her.”

“I’ll get with Lorraine and see what’s best for him and get back to you. Bye.”

“Hey, congratulations on your engagement. I really mean it. I like to see you happy and I think he’s the one that can do that for you. Bye.”

After Philippe hung up from the call, he had to calm down. Why did his brother always irritate him so?

Lorraine walked back in the room. “Did you reach him? What did he say?”

“He wants us to go to Rouen and tell our mother in person.”

“Oh. Did you say we?”

“Yes. You and I.”

“It sounds like a wonderful idea. You need to visit her any way and I’d love to meet her.”

“The problem is that you will know her just about as well as I know her. I’ve only met her the one time.”

“How can you get to know her if you don’t go visit her? I know it is difficult for you. But I imagine it is difficult for her, too—combined with so much guilt. I think it could be really good for her to see you happy—and I do make you happy, don’t I?” Lorraine came up behind Philippe and put his arms around him and nuzzled his neck.

Philippe rested his head against Lorraine’s. “Yes, you do. But I imagine it would be best not to let her know just _how_ you make me happy. I think she has a hard time understanding how two men can love each other. I’d rather she not get too graphic of an image of it in her mind.”

“Oh, I’ll be sweet, and innocent. She’ll love me.”

“You? Sweet and innocent? Well, I suppose you can put on those airs, but I know better. When do you want to do this thing? Louis said mornings are best for her.”

“How about tomorrow morning? I don’t have any major appointments. Leo can handle what I do have.”

“Tomorrow? Yes, I guess so.”

“Let’s get it done so you don’t have to worry and fret about it. I know how you get when you worry and fret. Call that brother of yours and let him know.”

Philippe sighed and did what Lorraine told him. Louis was a little surprised at the quick turn-around but agreed to meet Philippe and Lorraine. Lorraine made his own arrangements at work and they were set for the next day.

As Lorraine expected, Philippe was in his worry and fret mood and wasn’t all that invested in their love-making, but Lorraine didn’t complain. Once the meeting with his mother was over, Philippe would be back, with a vengeance. Lorraine could wait for that.

The next morning, they were up early. Philippe was anxious to get on the road. Once they were on the road, Lorraine tried to get Philippe to talk about his mother, but he would have none of it. Lorraine then tried to get Philippe to zero in on a wedding date, but all he would say is “before we go on tour.” So far, Philippe had no idea when the tour would start, so that discussion was a dead end.

“How are Claudine and Fabien doing with the move into the flat?”

“They are still painting and making changes. Guess Claudine wasn’t a big fan of my decorating.” Philippe laughed, “Can’t say that I blame her! It was pretty depressing, wasn’t it?”

Lorraine was glad to hear a little cheer in Philippe’s voice. “Have you mentioned to them about the engagement, uh, dinner?”

“Yes, I said we wanted to have some friends over for dinner and drinks. It defeats the purpose if we call it an ‘engagement dinner.’”

“Yes, you have a point. Should we make it for this Friday?”

“That sounds good to me. The sooner the better. I’m afraid I’m going to accidentally say something and let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.”

“Maybe we should just avoid all the fuss and elope,” responded Lorraine.

“You would never forgive me for that. Planning this wedding is important to you. Even if it is not as big and spectacular as you have wanted.”

“Yes, you understand me pretty well.” They started talking about the different ideas Lorraine had about the wedding and the trip went quickly for them.

Louis met Philippe and Lorraine in the lobby. “She’s in good spirits this morning. She was excited when I said you were coming and bringing someone you wanted her to meet.”

Philippe responded with, “Good. Let’s go in and get this over with.”

When Philippe walked in, he noticed his mother was looking better. Her face lit up when she saw Philippe. He walked over to her and gave her a big hug.

“Philippe you are still too thin. If I wasn’t in this hospital, I’d fix you some meals that would put some meat on those bones. And who do we have here?”

Lorraine smiled as sweetly as he could—and he was good at that sweet smile.

Philippe stepped back and took Lorraine’s hand. “Mom, I came to tell you that I am getting married. Mom, meet my fiancé, Philippe Lorraine. He is a famous fashion designer and the love of my life.” Philippe raised the hand interlocked with Lorraine’s and gave it a kiss.

His mother looked a little puzzled at first until Louis whispered in her ear, “Mom, I told you Philippe is gay.”

Understanding slowly spread on her face. “Oh, forgive me. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding certain things. So your name is Philippe, too?”

“Just call me Lorraine. That’s a lot less confusing.”

“Well, Lorraine, come over here and give your future mother-in-law a hug.” Lorraine did as he was bid.

“This is the engagement ring your son gave me. Isn’t it beautiful?”

She looked at the ring and exclaimed, “Oh my, that really is beautiful! That is an amazingly clear ruby! Philippe, you must love Lorraine quite a lot!”

“Yes, Mother, I do. And he loves me, too.”

“When is the wedding?”

“We haven’t set a date, but it will be before I go on tour. My band and I have almost completed our new album. Once it is released, we will go out on tour to promote it. I want to marry Lorraine before we go on tour. The record execs should be giving me that information soon, so we can start the wedding plans.”

Lorraine spoke up, “We would like you to attend if you are up to it. It will be small but spectacular.”

Louis spoke up, “Mom, the doctors said they think you could probably be strong enough to go out in just about two months.”

Lorraine spoke, “Well, we won’t have the wedding until you are able to attend, then.”

“Oh, aren’t you so sweet. Thank you, Lorraine. Now, I have extra incentive to do my physical therapy!”

Louis added, “Yes, Mom doesn’t like her physical therapy much. This just might be the thing she needs.”

Philippe spoke up, “Mom, Lorraine just planned and organized a wedding for some dear friends of ours, Claudine and Fabien. It was spectacular, and I know he will do the same for ours.”

“Lorraine, you appear to be a very talented young man. I think Philippe is lucky. Will you two be wanting kids anytime soon? I’d love another grandchild.”

Philippe was shocked and at a loss for words, so it was Lorraine who answered, “It is not the right time for us to have kids just yet.  We are both very tied up in developing our careers. The kids will have to wait a while.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Louis, looks like you need to make me another grandchild.”

“Mother, we have discussed this before. I am about to begin a long political campaign. I won’t have time to give to another child.”

“You young people and your careers. You forget the thing that makes life complete. A child could bring you so much joy.”

Lorraine could see that stubborn, angry look on Philippe’s face and knew he probably was holding back an angry tirade about the importance of a child in one’s life. He squeezed Philippe’s hand and when Philippe looked at him he nodded his head no. Philippe looked angrier, then Lorraine saw him sigh and bury his anger. Lorraine squeezed Philippe’s hand and brought it up to his lips to kiss. Meanwhile, Philippe’s mom chattered on. Finally, they were able to leave.

Lorraine could tell Philippe was fuming and he said, “Philippe, let it out. I’ll listen.”

Philippe shook his head no then made a face and started in. “Where does she get the nerve to talk to us about how wonderful kids are? Has she forgotten she gave me away? I was her kid and she threw me away like garbage! That woman has no clue how hard life can be for a motherless child in this world. No clue at all!”

Lorraine said nothing, but he did put his arm around Philippe and hugged him.

Philippe continued, “How dare she question our desire to pursue a career before having kids! She knows good and well what happens when you have kids before you have a career. You need a good career to support your kids and ensure you can take care of them. And you!”

Lorraine looked surprised, “Me? What did I do?”

“You were all sweet and nice to her!”

“But I thought that’s what you wanted me to do.”

“Well, yes, but I think she wound up liking you better than me.”

Lorraine tried to suppress the laugh, but it crept out anyway. “You should see yourself right now! You look like a petulant child!” Lorraine bent over and kissed Philippe before he could respond. “I know you are angry right now. She really does not have a clue. I don’t think she will ever understand you or what you went through. There’s not much you can do but just ignore her.”

Philippe looked at Lorraine and started to speak several times but stopped each time. Lorraine kissed him. “She’s not worth it, Philippe. Let it go.” Then Lorraine kissed him again—a long, deep kiss aimed at taking his mind totally off the previous events. It worked. Philippe’s anger turned to passion. Lorraine finally had to stop him. “Philippe, not here in the car. Think of the driver.”

“I’ll give him a huge bonus.”

“We’re almost back in town. I’ve still got some time before I need to get back to work. The driver can take us home where we can finish this properly. I don’t like having sex in the back seat of a car. There just isn’t enough room to do it right. And it’s so high school. I left high school a long time ago!”

Philippe sighed and crawled off Lorraine. “Why do you always have to make so much sense! Damn, I’m going to lose my erection.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it back for you when we get home. Driver, take us to my home, not to my work.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Lorraine.”

Lorraine and Philippe spent the next few minutes putting their shirts back on and buttoning up. “At least you made the end of the trip more enjoyable, even if it was a little frustrating to not finish.”

“You’ll get your finish and then some. Just have a little patience.”

Philippe pouted, “I’m a little short on patience today.”

“So I noticed.”

Soon they were pulling into Lorraine’s garage. Lorraine released the driver telling him, he’d need another one in a few hours and that he would call when he needed it. When Lorraine signed the ticket, he made sure to give the driver a good bonus.

Inside the house Lorraine was in the middle of saying, “How about some lunch” When Philippe put his mouth over Lorraine’s and gave him a long, deep kiss. Lunch would have to wait. Lorraine made good on all his promises and then some. At the end, Philippe was laying on top of Lorraine, totally exhausted, then rolled off him to lay beside him. “Damn that was good. You were right. It was so much better in bed than it would have been in that cramped back seat.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I am right a good percentage of the time.”

“You don’t have to be so smug about it. Now let’s get some lunch. I am starving.”

Lorraine was a little late getting back to work, but he had a smile on his face the rest of the afternoon.

The rest of the week went fairly fast. Their small group of friends had gathered at their house for their evening of dinner and drinks. In attendance were Fabien and Claudine, Leo, Philippe’s agent, Lily and two more people from Lorraine’s team, Justine and Andy. They had started off with some appetizers and drinks while everyone arrived. Then they went into the dinner. Both Philippe and Lorraine were wearing their engagement rings and waiting for someone to notice. As they were eating the main course, it was Claudine who spoke up.

“Wow, I just noticed those two rocks both of you are wearing! How sweet, matching ruby and diamond rings. I don’t think I’ve ever seen those on you both before.”

Now that Claudine had brought it up everyone was ogling their gorgeous matching rings.  It was Lorraine who spoke up. “Claudine, you get the prize tonight for noticing our new rings. And I have you and Fabien to thank. After seeing how happy you and Fabien were at your wedding, Philippe finally proposed to me and I accepted! We wanted to let you, our closest friends, know with this evening of dinner and drinks. We were just waiting for someone to notice our rings.”

Fabien was the first to ask, “So when’s the date?”

Lorraine answered, “We are waiting to see what Philippe’s tour schedule is going to be.”

Philippe interjected, “We want to get married before I go on tour, but the record company hasn’t given me a date yet.”

Leo exclaimed, “Wow, Lorraine, you are going to get the big wedding you’ve always wanted!”

Lorraine answered, “Well, yes and no. It is going to be a spectacular wedding, but the guest list will be small. We’re limiting it to about thirty people. Philippe wants to keep it more intimate and not so public. Of course, all of you will be invited.”

Claudine interjected, “Lorraine you did a wonderful job on our wedding and it was small and intimate. I don’t doubt you will do the same for your own wedding. I am also honored that you credit Fabien and I for Philippe’s desire to get married. Philippe, I know you have had a hard time with the very idea of marriage after all your bad experiences with it. I swear to you that it is wonderful when you truly love your spouse. You both are going to be very happy together.”

Fabien raised his wine glass and said, “I propose a toast to the newly engaged couple!” Everyone raised their glasses and Fabien continued, “To Philippe and Lorraine! May your love be true and last forever!  I know of no one else who deserves it more than you two—except maybe Claudine and I.” Fabien, Claudine, Lorraine and Philippe all exchanged smiles at their little inside joke.

Claudine asked, “Does your brother know, Philippe?”

“Yes, we made a trip to Rouen to see him and my mother to tell them in person. My mother is still recuperating from her stroke, but doing well,” Philippe explained.

They all returned to finishing their meal with a few more questions here and there. After the meal, they all had to take a closer look at the rings. There was a lot of “ooohs” and “aaawws.” Philippe was congratulated on his great taste—that made him happy because it was usually Lorraine who was usually credited with the great taste. Both Lorraine and Philippe smiled all night long. They spent most of the evening arm in arm and close to one another. At one point, Claudine whispered to Fabian, “I can’t believe how happy those two look. And Philippe—he is just beaming. I am so happy for the both of them!” Fabien gave her a hug and said, “There is a lot of happiness to be found all around.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Finally, it was late and people started saying their goodbyes. Fabien and Claudine were the last to leave, but before they left, Claudine hugged both Philippe and Lorraine. “We haven’t had a chance since we got back from our honeymoon to thank you for the wonderful wedding you gave us! It was amazing! Thank you! If there is anything we can do for you to make your wedding day special, let us know.”

Lorraine answered, “It was our pleasure to give you both that special day. And, yes, we could use some help in figuring out some details on how to translate a typical wedding into a same sex wedding. Like do we have two sets of groomsmen?  Or could we designate you and Fabien our maid of honor and best man? Just little details like that. I’ll make a list of them as I think of them and we can get together and discuss them.”

Fabien answered, “I believe you should do what you want to do and not worry about tradition! But we will be happy to work with you. Just let us know when.”

Finally, Philippe and Lorraine were alone. “We really have some great friends, don’t we?” Lorraine asked.

“Yes, we do. Fabien and Claudine are the best ones, too. I am going to have to put some pressure on the record company to give me a start date for the tour, so we can decide on a wedding date.”

“Or we could pick a day and then you tell the record company you aren’t going on the tour until after our honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon? Where are we going to go for our honeymoon? I had not even thought about that.”

Lorraine replied, “I’d just as soon spend a week alone with you here.”

“No really, have you any preferences—any place you think is special?”

“Do we want to go to some exciting city and sightsee? Or would we like to go somewhere peaceful like Fabien and Claudine. A nice beach somewhere could be fun.”

“Hmm, a beach. I sunburn easily.”

“Well, we could stay inside during the day and go out at night. Swim in the moonlight.”

Philippe stated, “We should think of a bunch of possibilities and then decide from among them.”

Lorraine replied, “Philippe, it doesn’t matter where we go to me. I just want to be with you.” Lorraine put his arms around Philippe. “It’s been a long day. I suggest we have some wine and wind down. I have some plans for you tonight that I think you might like.”

“Sex? Is that all you think about?”

“Yes, to be honest. Sex with you.”

Philippe laughed, “And that’s why I love you so much. Let’s go open a new bottle of wine and get started.”

“Forget the wine, let’s just go to bed. I’ve had enough to drink. I need you now.” Lorraine pulled Philippe into the bedroom and pushed him onto the bed. True to his word, Lorraine showed Philippe just how much he needed him. It was a wonderful way to end the day.

 


	32. Boredom Doesn't Sit Well With Some People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe tells the band about the engagement. The band completes the album and they agree to get together to meet Lorraine, Claudine and Fabien. Philippe gets bored and gets drunk with disastrous results.

A few days later, Philippe met with the band to do what they hoped would be the final mix of the album before they sent it on to production. Jack was the first to notice the ring on Philippe’s hand. He grabbed Philippe’s hand and held it up for all to see saying, “My god, Philippe, this is one hell of a rock!”

Philippe beamed and said, “Yes, it is my engagement ring. I asked Lorraine to marry me last week and he accepted.”

The guys all gathered around to look at the ring and congratulate Philippe. To the inevitable question of “When is the date?” Philippe gave his usual reply “before we go on tour.” They all started guessing when that might be. Finally, Philippe said, “Lorraine and I thought we should go ahead and set a date for the wedding and then I can tell the record company that I will be available to tour after that date. Is that okay with all of you?”

Chris asked, “Do you have a date in mind?”

“We’ve been thinking in about a month and a half. Late August. It is going to be a relatively small wedding and Lorraine thinks he could have it ready to go by then. We also plan on a week or two honeymoon afterward.”

“We could go on tour as early as September, then? Sounds good to me,” Chris answered. “Where do you plan on going on that honeymoon?”

“We have no idea. We are still discussing that. But all of you and your wives and girlfriend are invited to the wedding.”

Johnny asked, “I know you were dead set against getting married. What changed your mind?”

“Lorraine pointed out to me that my previous marriage had been to a woman that I had not particularly loved and that I should not judge being married on that. Then my good friends, Fabien and Claudine, got married and they are so much in love. I realized that I will never love anyone like I love Lorraine. After that, marriage seemed like the way to go.”

“That Lorraine sounds like a pretty good guy. If he makes you happy, then go for it!” replied the tech, Charles.

“Yeah, we need to meet him and give him our approval. Maybe we should all go out for a beer sometime this week. We need to celebrate finishing this album anyway!” Jack suggested.

“Yes, that sounds good. May I invite Fabien and Claudine, too?” Philippe asked.

“The more, the merrier!” Jack said.

“I’ll get with them and see when might be good. I’m thinking maybe tomorrow night. I want to meet all your spouses and girlfriend, too.”

With that tentatively agreed to, they got down to work. By midafternoon they had the final product ready to go. It was now up to the techs to get it to the production team.

On his way home in the car, Philippe called Lorraine and told him about the proposed night out. Lorraine said the time and day were good for him and that he looked forward to meeting all the band members.  Of course, Philippe had told Fabien as soon as the session was over since Fabien had been outside with the security team. Fabien said he’d check with Claudine and get back to him that evening.

When Philippe got home, he found a pile of brochures on the table that Lorraine had left him. Lorraine wanted him to go through them and pick out any honeymoon destinations that appealed to him. Lorraine also left instructions for him to write down the things he thought important about a honeymoon destination.

Philippe poured himself a glass of wine and sat down to write out his thoughts. He wrote down “Privacy,” followed by “good places to have sex, in private.” “No sand up my ass.” “Not too hot.” “Not too cold.” “Good food. Good wine.” “No tourists.” “Good massages.” “No hiking.” “No fishing or hunting.” “No sightseeing. No museums.” “Just you and me. Having sex. All day. All night. And food and wine to keep us going.” Philippe thought that last one said it all and quit.

He started skimming through the brochures. At first glance, none of them appealed to him. Then he decided that since their main activity would be sex, drinking wine, and eating, he started looking at those aspects of the brochures. Several had “private villas” listed. That appealed to him—a little separation from all the other guests. Then among those, he chose the ones with the widest variety of restaurants and food available. There were several that had private dining areas or private cooks. They made it to the top of the pile. There, that should please his Chevalier. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a special week with his Chevalier. He really did—and someplace other than this house. He just didn’t want to put up with all the people—the other tourists. He didn’t want to be confined to a small room, either. At least he knew what he didn’t want.

Once he finished with the vacation planning, he walked around the house. It was strange not having work hanging over him. His part in making the album was done now. How in the world had he ever managed to spend more than a year sitting in his flat, doing nothing? Well, part of that was under the influence of drugs. That made it easy to do nothing. Then there was the sex “on demand” with his “puppies.” Then he thought about Paul and wondered how he was doing. Paul had promised to keep in touch, but of course hadn’t. But then, he had not reached out to Paul, either. Then he wondered if Paul still had the same phone number. What would a little text hurt? Just to let Paul know he’d finished his album. He probably didn’t even have the same phone anyway. Then he wondered what Paul would think about his engagement to his Chevalier. Would he be happy for him? Or did he still harbor feelings for Philippe? No, he should leave it alone.

Maybe he could find something to read. He remembered starting a book a while back. Where had he put it? He looked around the house but couldn’t find the book. Then he picked up his phone again. He had no idea where Paul was or what time it was there. Just a short text couldn’t hurt. He set up a new text message to Paul and typed, “Philippe here. Just thought I’d let you know I finished my album. I think it is good. Record company gave me a good advance, so they think it is good, too. Hope things are well with you.” He hit send before he could change his mind. Then he decided to open a new bottle of wine and go sit by the fireplace and just stare. He dimmed the inside lights, so he could see the flame better and sat drinking the wine and thinking about his Chevalier and how lucky he was that they were reunited. He was on his third bottle of wine and feeling quite drunk when Lorraine made it home. He was so lost in thought and in the wine, that he didn’t hear the car pull in or Lorraine open the door from the garage.

Lorraine walked into the darkened house and immediately saw Philippe staring into the fireplace with a wine glass in his hand. Philippe didn’t seem to notice he was there. Then Lorraine saw the two empty wine bottles on the counter and a third almost empty one sitting on the coffee table in front of Philippe. Alarms went off in Lorraine’s head and he wondered if something bad had happened. Philippe had seemed excited and happy when he had called earlier. What could have happened? Tentatively, he called out, “Philippe. I’m home.”

Philippe turned and looked at Lorraine, “Welcome, home, love.” He was obviously slurring his words.

“Is everything okay with you?”

“Yess, just having a little wine.” Philippe laughed. “Guess more than jusst a little. Think I’m a little drunk. I wass bored.”

“So, you drank all this wine by yourself?”

“Yep. Went through those, uh, things and wrote down shtuff like you wanted. I got perfect place.”

“You did? And where is that?”

“Don’ remember. Is over there. I wrote it down.”

Lorraine walked over to the table to look at what Philippe had written down. Philippe got up and stumbled over to the table, too.

“See, right there. What I wrote. At the end.”

“You mean this? ‘Just you and me. Having sex. All day. All night. And food and wine to keep us going.’”

“Yeah, yeah!” Philippe leaned over to kiss Lorraine and almost fell over. Lorraine caught him and endured a sloppy, wine-flavored kiss.

“My dear, drunk, Philippe! Whatever am I going to do with you?”

Philippe started fumbling with Lorraine’s pants, “I already told you.”

“Philippe, I think you are a little too drunk right now.”

“Not too drunk, here, feel.” Philippe pressed against Lorraine. Lorraine was surprised to feel Philippe’s hard cock.

“See, I’m ready, but you aren’t.” Philippe grabbed at Lorraine who deftly stepped aside.  

“Philippe I just got home after a long day at work. Of course, I’m not ready. You need to get some food in you. I bet you didn’t eat any lunch.”

“You do me first.” Philippe was now fumbling with his own pants.

Lorraine decided the quickest thing was to give in to Philippe. He grabbed Philippe’s hands and pulled him to the couch and pushed him down on it.

“See, knew you wanted me.” Lorraine didn’t respond but undid and pulled down Philippe’s pants. This was so very unromantic. He thought about kissing Philippe, but the thought of wine-breath made him change his mind. He kneeled and ran his hands up Philippe’s legs and along the inside of his thighs, trying his best to get into the mood. He wrapped his right hand around Philippe’s shaft and heard Philippe groan. Philippe tried to grab Lorraine’s head to push him down, but Lorraine grabbed the hand.

“Patience, Philippe!” Then Lorraine put his mouth over the tip and heard Philippe groan again. He barely made it up and down Philippe’s hard shaft two times before Philippe moaned loudly and emptied his cock.

“Oh god, good. You’re so good,” Philippe mumbled. He was laying back against the couch with his eyes closed. If he had not been mumbling, Lorraine would’ve thought he was passed out.

Lorraine pulled up Philippe’s pants and zipped them back up. “I’m going to reheat some of that roast we had last night.”

“No, want a sandwich.”

“Okay, I will make us a sandwich with the roast. Do you want some reheated potatoes and carrots to go along with that?”

“Juss roast.”

Lorraine hurried over to the kitchen and fixed two sandwiches. He was afraid Philippe was going to pass out before he could get some food into him. He brought the sandwiches over to the coffee table and took the almost empty wine bottle to put on the counter. He dug out a sports drink from the fridge and poured that over ice for Philippe.

He brought the glass over and put it on the coffee table and sat by Philippe. He shook Philippe and said, “Here’s your sandwich. Please eat.”

“Not hungry.”

“Philippe you need to eat.” Lorraine held up the sandwich to Philippe’s mouth. “Here, take a bite.”

Philippe took a few bites then took the sandwich from Lorraine. “Thank you. Was hungry after all.”

Lorraine held up the drink for Philippe. “Here drink some of this, too. It will help you feel better.”

Lorraine started eating some of his sandwich when Philippe suddenly said. “Don’t feel good. Gonna be sick.”

Lorraine jumped up and ran to the kitchen to grab the trash can and rushed over to Philippe who was now sitting up and bending over at the waist. He made it just in time for Philippe to retch into the can. He tried to hold Philippe’s hair out of the way as best as he could, but Philippe kept retching. Lorraine thought to himself that this wasn’t at all what he had wanted to come home to.

Finally, Philippe had emptied everything in his system into the can. He sat back and passed out. Lorraine went to the bathroom and got a couple of wet wash cloths and went back in to clean Philippe up. The cool rag on Philippe’s face revived him a little and Lorraine took the opportunity to get Philippe up and help him into the bedroom. Philippe collapsed on the bed. Lorraine got a couple of smaller waste baskets to place beside the bed just in case Philippe got sick again. He removed Philippe’s clothes and then decided to try and brush his teeth. He figured at some point Philippe would wake up and the last thing he wanted was to kiss that disgusting mouth. Philippe did manage to spit out the rinse after the brushing. Lorraine wiped his face again and laid him back down. He decided it was best to roll Philippe onto his side in case he got sick again and put several pillows around him to hold him in place. He pulled a sheet over him, so he wouldn’t get chilled.

Then Lorraine went back into the living room to finish his meal. He had lost his appetite for the sandwich, so he heated up the carrots and potatoes.  He wondered what had caused Philippe to get drunk. Could it really be as simple as boredom? Maybe it was the letdown after finishing the album. He knew, when he finished a big project he had worked hard on, that there was that feeling of “What now?” Lorraine was sitting there wondering about Philippe’s strange behavior when he heard a phone ring.

He realized it was Philippe’s phone and without thinking answered it. “Hello, Phillipe?” He heard a somewhat familiar voice on the other end.

“No, this is Lorraine, Philippe cannot come to the phone right now. How can I help you?”

“Oh, uh, Lorraine, uh, this is Paul. I was just returning Philippe’s text earlier today. Is he okay?”

Lorraine was shocked. Why had Philippe texted Paul? “Yes, he is asleep right now. He had a long day.”

“I just called to congratulate him on finishing his new album. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Look, Paul. Philippe might not have told you this, but he proposed to me last week. We are engaged and will be getting married soon.”

“Oh! Well, congratulations!”

“I don’t think you should be calling here anymore. Do you understand me?”

“Huh? But Philippe contacted me. I didn’t mean to upset you or cause any trouble between the two of you. I understand and won’t call again. Goodbye.” Paul hung up.

Now Lorraine was mad. What the hell was Philippe doing calling Paul? Was Philippe having second thoughts about getting married? Was he trying to sabotage it by calling Paul? He was going to have some explaining to do when he finally sobered up! Lorraine was so mad at Philippe he decided he didn’t want to sleep next to the stinking mess that was Philippe. He decided to open a bottle of wine for himself and sat sitting and staring at the fireplace, going over the jumble of thoughts in his head. He should have known Philippe would get cold feet. At least only a few people knew about the engagement and he hadn’t started any real plans, yet. Better he knew now than later when invitations had been sent out and reservations made.

Then the reality of what he was thinking hit Lorraine hard. If they called off the wedding, then how could they ever get back to that good place they were before? Could he forgive Philippe? But then how could he not? Life without Philippe wasn’t worth living. But how could he trust Philippe again? He was absolutely miserable at the choices before him. He drank half the bottle of wine and decided he needed to go to bed so he could get up and go to work the next day. He re-corked the bottle and put it into the fridge. He quietly slipped past a snoring Philippe and into the bathroom where he prepared himself for bed. He quietly made his way to one of the guest bedrooms and fell into a fitful sleep.

He didn’t hear a groggy Philippe get up and come out looking for him a little later. Philippe had woken up and realized Lorraine wasn’t asleep beside him. Philippe searched for Lorraine but didn’t think to check the guest bedrooms. Philippe vaguely remembered Lorraine coming home. He wasn’t sure, however, if the memory of Lorraine on his knees at the couch was real or a dream. Where the hell was Lorraine? Surely, he had not gone out again? And, if so, where to? What the hell was going on? Philippe stumbled back into bed and fell asleep.

Neither of them heard Philippe’s phone ring again and Fabien leaving a message that tomorrow was good for him and Claudine to go out to meet the band.

The next morning Lorraine got up early and grabbed some fresh clothes. He decided to shower at work rather than risk waking Philippe and getting into an argument. He was still mad at Philippe and tried to put the whole thing out of his mind, burying himself in his work.

Philippe slept until almost noon. He had a huge headache when he woke up. He didn’t remember Lorraine coming home or climbing into bed with him. What was Lorraine’s problem anyway? Surely, he wasn’t mad because he got a little drunk. Philippe tried to remember everything that had happened, but his memory was too fuzzy. Maybe he said something that offended Lorraine. He was pretty sure Lorraine had gotten him off on the couch. Maybe Lorraine was mad that Philippe passed out and hadn’t reciprocated. That was such a silly thing to be mad about. But then Lorraine could be so fickle—and jealous.

Phillipe walked into the kitchen to get himself something to drink. A sports drink would be the best thing at this point. He decided to scramble himself some eggs and make toast. He felt so empty. Then he remembered getting sick. Maybe that’s what set Lorraine off. But they were getting married. They had already seen the worst and the best of each other. Philippe thought back to Versailles, when his Chevalier, in a fit of jealous rage, had gambled away a third of his yearly income. The fight that had ensued over that had been a particularly bad one. But they were past all that. Now, if anything, it would be him spending Lorraine’s money, although the album should increase his finances substantially. Philippe thought, had he somehow spent Lorraine’s money last night? No, he had stayed home once he got there.

Then Philippe saw his phone and that he had a message. He picked up his phone and checked Fabien’s message. They were going to make it to the get-together tonight. Good. Surely Lorraine still wouldn’t be mad at him by tonight. Then Philippe noticed his call log. Oh shit! Paul had called him after his text and someone (not him) had answered. It had to be Lorraine. That’s probably what Lorraine was mad about. That he had texted Paul. And maybe, a little of him getting drunk.

He immediately called Lorraine to explain. His call went to voicemail. He waited a bit then called again. It went to voicemail again. Now he knew Lorraine was very mad at him. He decided the best thing to do was go to Lorraine and talk to him face to face. He decided he needed a shower, first. No wonder Lorraine hadn’t crawled in bed with him. He was disgusting. He decided to check the guest bedrooms and saw the bed in one of them had been used. Good, Lorraine, had not gone out. He had just slept in the guest room.

Philippe showered and washed his hair, then put on one of the nicer jean outfits Lorraine had designed for him. Then he went over to the brochures and picked up the top one. He was fairly certain that was the one that had all the amenities he had wanted. The brochure was for a St. John’s on a Greek Island. Ugh! Beaches, sand, sunburn—that wasn’t ideal, but then it had the best amenities as best as he could remember. He had to pull out all the stops to calm Lorraine down and if it took agreeing to go to a Greek island, so be it.

Philippe called a car, sat down and read the brochure while waiting. He loved the idea of a private villa with a private pool. In-room massages weren’t bad either. There were several restaurant choices too. What did he know about Greece? They were once an ancient world power. They basically were the foundation for most modern art and culture today. Their sculptors had created many very fine statues—many of beautiful naked men. Philippe tried to remember did their warriors fight nude. He shuddered at that thought. He definitely wanted all the armor he could get in battle. Then he remembered that the Olympics were originally Greek. That was where they competed in the nude. The photos in the brochure showed beautiful beaches and a gorgeous ocean. Yes, this was where he would tell Lorraine he wanted to go. It seemed a very romantic place. Hell, he’d even get sand in his ass to please Lorraine.

The car came and soon Philippe was outside the House of Lorraine. He tried to call Lorraine one last time and left a message for him that he was outside. He waited a bit, then took a deep breath and walked in. He saw Lorraine’s assistant walk by and grabbed him.

“Leo, I need your help. Lorraine and I have had a little spat.”

“Yes, I know he was very angry when he came in this morning.”

“I swear, it is all a big misunderstanding. He’s not answering or returning my calls and I really need to explain to him. Can you please put me in one of those client rooms? Don’t tell him it’s me in there, and send him in.”

“Deceiving him like that could make him even angrier.”

“I’ll have to take that chance. Please do this for me and I will owe you big time. It could save our engagement which could very well be in jeopardy right now because of a stupid misunderstanding.”

“Okay, I’ll do it. I’m going to put you in a very private one so if he starts screaming, no one will hear. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell him it is a very important new client who wants to stay anonymous. A lot of important people insist on that when they are thinking about changing designers. You had better have a good explanation or both our asses are on the line!”

Leo showed Philippe to the room. Philippe paced nervously. He decided this called for big moves. He stayed standing with the idea of dropping to his knees and sliding over to Lorraine to beg forgiveness. The polished marble floor was plenty slick enough for it to work. Otherwise, Lorraine might turn and go right back out the door once he saw who it was.

Philippe saw the door handle turning and prepared for his big move. The door opened, and Lorraine stepped in. Philippe fell to his knees and was sliding across the room saying “I beg you—” but the floor was slicker than he anticipated, and he kept going right into Lorraine, knocking them both to the floor.

Philippe had hit Lorraine face first into his cock and balls. Lorraine was rolling on the floor moaning in pain, grasping his crotch. Philippe crawled across the floor to the moaning Lorraine, “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen like that.”

Lorraine could finally get a few words out, “What the hell! Were you trying to de-masculate me?”

Philippe was beside himself, “No, god no. I just wanted to beg you for forgiveness and explain to you. I thought it would be an appropriate move. Please don’t be mad at me! I’m sorry I got drunk and I’m sorry I texted Paul.”

“Call Leo in here and tell him to get me an ice-pack!”

“Sure, sure.” Philippe stood up and went to the door quickly and yelled for Leo, then went back to Lorraine and knelt beside him. Leo came to the door and saw Lorraine doubled up on the floor and Philippe on his knees beside him.

“What the hell did you do to him, Philippe?”

“Get him an ice pack, quick. I injured his penis.”

“You what!?!”

Lorraine moaned loudly, “Get an ice pack, NOW!”

Philippe told Lorraine, “I was just going to slide over to you on my knees to beg you to listen to my explanation. The floor was slicker than I thought. If I have done any permanent damage to you, I’ll never forgive myself!”

“ _I’ll_ never forgive you!”

Leo came back with an ice pack. Philippe took it from him and started to apply it to Lorraine, but Lorraine barked, “Don’t touch me. Give me that thing!” Then Lorraine applied it gingerly to his cock through his pants flinching at the cold.

A worried Leo asked, “Do you want me to call a medic?”

“No! Get the hell out and close that door behind you!”

Leo did as ordered. Philippe sat on the floor on his knees beside Lorraine afraid to talk or do anything.

“Damn, that’s cold!” Lorraine removed the ice pack for a few minutes. Then applied it again.

“Is it working?” asked Philippe.

“Yeah, I think. Or else it’s so numb from the cold I’m not feeling anything.”

“Maybe you should take the ice pack off for a while and see. You don’t want to add frostbite to your injuries.”

Then Lorraine started laughing hysterically. “Don’t want…to add frostbite…to my injuries?” he managed to get out between laughs.

Philippe wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. He didn’t really see anything humorous about the situation at all.

“If you could only see your face!” Lorraine managed to get out. Lorraine’s laughter was starting to die down. “Good god, what were you thinking pulling a move like that?”

“You were so mad at me, I didn’t want you to turn around and leave when you saw it was me. I was just going to slide about half way to get your attention and beg you to let me explain. The floor was slicker than I expected.”

Lorraine stated laughing again, “Slicker than you expected?”

Now, it was Philippe’s turn to get angry. “Look, I came home yesterday after finishing the album and had absolutely nothing to do. It’s a strange feeling I get when I have worked so hard on something and it is finally completed. I was restless, bored. I looked for a book I was reading but couldn’t find it. I decided to drink some wine and let my nerves settle down. I started thinking that the last time I had nothing to do was when I was in the flat with Paul and the others. I spent several years doing nothing with them. It was such a wasted time. Then I wondered what Paul was doing. He said he would keep in touch, but he hadn’t. So, I sent him a brief text to let him know the album was complete. It was an innocent text to an old friend who would be happy that I had completed my album. That was ALL it was. And if I said or did anything to you while I was drunk that offended you, I am so sorry. It was stupid of me to get drunk like that.”

“I am sorry, too, I let my jealousy get the better of me. You were such a pathetic mess when I came home. I was tired and all you wanted to do was have sex, but you weren’t able. Well, you had a hard on, but I don’t think you could have done anything with it. I knew you hadn’t eaten so I tried to get you to eat something. The only way I could get you to eat was to relieve your hard for you. I fed you a sandwich and you thanked me by throwing it and all that wine up. After I cleaned you up, I took you to the bedroom and put you to bed. I’m sorry but you were such a stinking mess, I couldn’t sleep with you. When your phone rang I answered it thinking it was probably Fabien. But it was Paul and I found out you had texted him. My mind started thinking maybe you were getting cold feet and changing your mind about being engaged.”

“No! No, I wasn’t! Here, I’ve chosen a place for us to go after the wedding. Philippe pulled out the brochure. See! This place on a Greek island! It’s beautiful and has all the amenities I think we need. I’ll even have sex with you on the beach and we can get sand up our asses!”

Lorraine smiled, “My dear, Philippe. What am I going to do with you?”

“Forgive me. That’s a good start.” Then Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine, but Lorraine pushed him away, “Stop! No physical touching for a while. When you kiss or touch me, I get excited and that hurts right now.”

“Apply the ice again, see if that helps.”

“No, no more ice right now. Let’s just keep our distance for a while and see what happens. I’ve got to get back to work now.”

“Let me help you up. Can I at least do that?” Philippe helped Lorraine to his feet.

“Don’t forget, we’re meeting the guys in the band along with Fabien and Claudine tonight. We agreed to meet at eight.”

“I’ll be home at six, six-thirty at the latest, then. Now please get out of my sight and go home—but don’t get drunk. Go buy some books to read.” Lorraine shuffled slowly out of the room.

Philippe had his driver stop at a bookstore on the way home. He bought several books, including one on the History of Ancient Greece and another a book on the Sculpture of Ancient Greece. Since they were going to Greece he might as well know something about the place.


	33. When It Hurts So Bad It Is Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine, Philippe, Fabien, Claudine and the band and their wives and girlfriend meet for drinks. Lorraine is still in pain and avoids contact with Philippe until the need outweighs than the pain.

True to his word, Lorraine got home at six-thirty. Philippe was ready to go out and absolutely sober. He still had a headache and a general feeling of malaise from the night before, but he tried hard not to let Lorraine see it. Lorraine washed up and changed clothes. Philippe was surprised to see him wearing sweat pants. Lorraine hated people who wore sweat pants out in public. Philippe decided not to say anything. When Lorraine first came home he had told Philippe to stay away from him. “Don’t touch me. Don’t kiss me. Don’t even stand close to me. Your presence turns me on and right now that hurts.”

But that was easier said than done because they both were used to being demonstrative with their love and affection. They caressed and touched each other almost without thinking. When they got in the car, Lorraine had Philippe get in first and slide all the way to the other side. Then Lorraine, slowly and carefully got in just far enough for the door to close. When they arrived, the driver helped Lorraine get out. Lorraine walked with a slow shuffle and insisted it wasn’t hurting as much as it had hurt that morning. As they entered the bar and looked for their group, Philippe walked a few feet behind Lorraine. Claudine must have noticed it because she and Fabien were whispering to each other. Fabien, of course, had known about it shortly after it had happened.

Philippe’s band mates noticed Philippe walking so far behind Lorraine and immediately Jack spoke up. “Did you two have a little spat? You don’t seem too cozy tonight.”

Philippe blurted out, “I almost broke Lorraine’s penis this morning.”

Jack held up his hand in a stop motion and said, “Whoa, okay, we don’t need any details. Sorry I asked.”

“No, it wasn’t during sex. We had a little spat last night and I went to his work this morning to apologize to him. I was waiting in a room to talk to him and was afraid he’d turn and walk out the door if he saw it was me. I decided that I would slide across the room on my knees begging him to forgive me.”

“You what? Slid across the floor on your knees?”

Philippe explained, “It was a highly polished floor and a lot slicker than I anticipated.” To which Lorraine started laughing again remembering how ludicrous it had all been. Philippe glared at Lorraine, then continued. “I slid face first into Lorraine and hurt him, well, you know where.” As the image came to their minds, they all started laughing, too. Even Claudine and Fabien couldn’t help but contribute a few chuckles.

“I’m glad that you all think it is funny that I injured my fiancé! I, for one, do not think it was funny at all.”

It was Charles (who was a little slow to comprehend the obvious at times) who asked, “So why are you two staying so far away from each other? Surely, you have made up by now.”

With a smirk on his face, Lorraine answered, “Because, if he touches me, I get aroused and at the moment that is quite painful.” Charles immediately blushed and wished he had not asked the question.

Claudine said, “Philippe, won’t you come sit over here beside me?” She gave him a hug as he did, and said, “I assure you, from the way Lorraine is walking tonight, he will be back to normal in a day or two. I swear, you men are such big babies when it comes to injuries in that area. You should try giving birth to a baby sometime.”

Philippe explained to those who were unfamiliar with Claudine, “This is my very good friend, Claudine. She is a doctor and married to the head of my security, Fabien whom you have already met.”

Lorraine settled on the other side of the table casting a miffed look at Claudine, who just smiled sweetly at him. They went around the table making introductions. Then the band members launched into stories about Philippe in the early days of the band.

Chris said, “We were very careful in those days to keep Philippe’s sexual preferences private because it was a very intolerant time. Yet, Philippe was always starting fights over the least little thing. And boy was he a scrapper! Others might look at him and see a skinny, pale, seemingly weak guy, only to find themselves bloodied and lying on the floor with Philippe standing over them before they knew what hit them.”

Lorraine smiled and said, “How well, I know that side of Philippe!”

Jack interjected, “Back in those days, Philippe was a lot thinner than he is today. And a lot paler. He looks very robust today compared to the way he looked back then. Bullies tend to try and pick on people like that, but they got a lot more than they bargained for when they tried to pick on Philippe.”

Philippe spoke up, “Don’t be led astray by these guys. They exaggerate. I never started a fight with someone unless they deserved to have their butts kicked. Now, I am a lover, not a fighter. I seem to remember you, Chris, getting into a lot of trouble. You seemed to always fall for the girl who already had a boyfriend or husband. You were an expert at crawling out windows, your pants in hand.”

Johnny spoke up, “Yeah, I remember he had a thing for that brunette married to one of our many managers. Broke his leg trying to jump from her second story window one night. Got up and limped away, then went to the emergency room. The ironic thing was, the manager joked the next day, ‘Break your leg crawling out some chic’s window?’”

“At least you didn’t have to worry about me crawling out of some woman’s window!” Philippe boasted.

Chris laughed and said, “No, but you do remember the twenty-two-year-old son of one of our managers?”

“So? We were two consenting adults.”

Jack laughed, “Yes, but his dad didn’t even know he was gay! He thought you two were just good friends until he caught you two together! We went through a lot of managers back in those days, between all of us.”

Jack said, “It is a wonder we all made it to this stage of our lives. We’re all boring now. My wife wouldn’t hesitate blowing my head off if she caught me cheating on her. And I have no desire to cheat on her. She’s an amazing woman.” He gave his wife a quick hug and the others nodded in affirmation.

Chris spoke up, “And now Philippe is throwing in the towel and is engaged to Lorraine.”

Johnny quipped, “If Lorraine survives until the ceremony, that is!” They all laughed. Johnny continued, “Here’s to the end of an era and the start of a new, more settled one!” and raised his glass. They all joined him in the toast.

Fabien then spoke up, “Seriously, Lorraine, you haven’t said much all night. You are giving these people the false impression that you are a shy, quiet, reserved guy. The Chevalier here is the master of sarcasm and wit. He keeps Philippe in line. I didn’t much like the man when I first met him. I know now, however, that he is devoted to and totally in love with Philippe. They may squabble now and then, but they always make up. I am lucky now to count Lorraine as a good friend!”

Lorraine responded, “Thank you, Fabien. I count you and Claudine as my good friends, also. I have to say my biggest flaw is my jealousy. That was at the root of our most recent squabble. So, I want to apologize to you Philippe. I didn’t let you explain and let my unfounded jealousy get the better of me. Just promise me, no more grand gestures! A simple apology will suffice.”

“Apology accepted. I promise, no more grand gestures. I apologize to you, too. I should never have gotten so drunk. You took such good care of me last night. I’m sorry my clumsiness caused you pain.”

Chris said, “Great. Apologies have been said. You two can kiss and make up later. Now, tell us how you met. Inquiring minds want to know!”

Philippe said, “It’s simple. The record company said I needed a new wardrobe. I went to the House of Lorraine and met him. Also, they wanted me to get out and socialize more, and I kept running into him at parties and events.”

“So, it was love at first sight?” asked Charles.

Philippe answered, “Yes!” While Lorraine answered at the same time, “No.”

Philippe said, “Okay, I knew right away, but it took him a little longer to come around.”

Lorraine quipped, “Can you blame me? You were not exactly a hot catch back then. You’d retreated from the world. You showed up at House of Lorraine, thin, pallid and a pretty good mess. I wasn’t much into burned out rock stars. But you cleaned up pretty good!”

“Well, you weren’t my type either. You were a snobbish, attention-seeker who went through lovers like water. You had a good reputation for that at the time.”

Seeing that this was headed in a bad direction, Claudine spoke up, “It is amazing to see how much you two have changed in such a short time. Neither of you are the same as you were before. That is because being together brings out the best in each of you. You two were meant for each other!”

Philippe smiled at Claudine’s words, “Claudine, you are always the voice of reason! Thank you for reminding us how we both have changed.” He reached out his hands across the table towards Lorraine. “I do love you my sweet Chevalier.”

Lorraine hesitated, then reached out to take Philippe’s hands. If he felt anything at the touch, he didn’t let on. “And I love you, Philippe.”

Everyone at the table clapped, and Jack called for another round of drinks. However, Charles just had to ask, “What is this chevalier thing? What does that mean?”

Philippe spoke up quickly, “Chevalier means knight—as in knight in shining armor. He always comes to my rescue, so I call him my Chevalier, my knight.” That seemed to satisfy Charles.

They got a little louder as the night went on, fueled by beer. Philippe was the only one not drinking. The thought of any kind of alcohol made him queasy. He enjoyed watching the interaction between his band mates and their spouses. It was a new side of them he had not seen before—and during their years of touring together they had seen a lot of each other. Jack’s wife, Delia, was almost as loud and outspoken as he was. Chris’s wife, Ann, seemed very grounded and level-headed. She was also a small animal veterinarian. Johnny’s girlfriend, Peggy, had a sly sense of humor and wit. She had them laughing their heads off at her jokes. Charles had a quiet young wife, Kathy, while Willie’s wife, Teah let everyone know she and Willie were avid gamers and competed in tournaments (and won quite often.) The bottom line was that they all seemed to have met someone who complemented them and seemed quite happy. Philippe wondered how life on the road would be with them now. Touring could challenge even the best of relationships. The truth was that Philippe was worried about how touring would affect him and Lorraine. He couldn’t imagine spending a week without his Chevalier, much less months. And if they had to go on tour right after their honeymoon, that would be even more difficult. He shoved the thoughts from his mind. He didn’t even want to think about it now.

Jack was the first to announce he and his wife’s departure stating that his babysitter had insisted they be home by this time. He turned to Lorraine and said, “It was great meeting you and getting to know you. You know, if we—his band—had not liked you, that you’d be history. But I, for one think you’re a good guy and an excellent match for Philippe. You’ve got my approval.”

Philippe spoke up, “It’s a good thing, too, because band members are easier to replace than lovers and I’m not in the mood to find a new bass player right now!”

That was the cue for the rest of them to find reasons to leave, too. Apparently, the entire band liked Lorraine (or else, didn’t want to be replaced.) Fabien and Claudine also said their goodnight and left. Leaving Philippe and Lorraine, still holding hands across the table. Philippe looked longingly at Lorraine and Lorraine jerked his hands away and turned his face away from Philippe. “Okay. That hurts. Sorry, Philippe. I think we should leave now. I think I will have to sleep in the guest bedroom again—at least one more night. I’d love nothing more than to cuddle up next to you, but don’t think I can.”

“I understand.”

They got up and left. The trip home was quiet. Neither of them talked. When they entered the house, Philippe said, “I’ll let you have the bathroom and bedroom first, so you can prepare for bed. I’ll just sit by the fire and wait for you to finish.”

“No wine tonight?”

“My stomach couldn’t take it.”

“Okay, then.” Lorraine went into the bedroom and gathered some sleeping clothes and went into the bathroom to take a shower, so he wouldn’t have to disturb Philippe the next morning.

When Philippe heard the shower running, he felt himself stirring. He tried to will away his arousal, to no avail. He tried to push out the images of a naked and wet Lorraine from his mind. Those too refused to leave. He made a point not to look in the direction of the bedroom because he didn’t want to have that image of Lorraine in his head, too. He heard the shower stop and a little later heard Lorraine come out of the bedroom and say, “Goodnight.” He mumbled “Goodnight,” in answer. When he heard the guest bedroom door close, he got up and went into the bedroom and began his own bedtime preparations. He decided to try a cold shower to see if that would work on his arousal, but he put his foot in and decided he didn’t want that. He turned the hot water on and took a normal shower. When he got out of the shower, he still had his problem. He decided he would just have to relieve himself and took a towel to bed with him. It was the most unsatisfying sexual experience he had had in a long time. It was more like scratching an itch that was only momentarily relieved and was itching again in no time at all. He gave up and willed himself into a fitful sleep.

The next day was another restless one for Philippe. He tried reading the books he had bought but couldn’t concentrate. Then he decided to work on some music for Lorraine’s runway shows. He had no idea what Lorraine wanted, but he tried to think of a combo of classical and rock music. At least it was something to occupy his mind. He thought of the clothes Lorraine had designed for him and tried to imagine models walking the runway in them. Then it dawned on him, classical music really wasn’t used much on fashion runways. To be honest, he wasn’t sure what type of music was played at a runway show. He got on the computer and started googling runway music. He discovered there was no classical music used at all. Sometimes they used popular hits, and a lot of it was some sort of dance music. Oh no, he couldn’t do dance music—not even for Lorraine. But, Lorraine knew the type of music he did, so he had to want something different. Philippe decided to experiment with his sound and without realizing it, the day went by fast.

He didn’t hear Lorraine pull in or come in the door, he was too busy playing on his keyboard. He about jumped out of his skin when Lorraine came up behind him and said, “That’s not half bad.”

“Damn, you should have given me some warning you were here. Scared the hell out of me!”

“I did say hello, but you didn’t hear me. You were playing pretty loud.”

Philippe looked at Lorraine for some indication of how he was feeling. He had an intense urge to give him a big kiss and hug but didn’t want the embarrassment of being told to stop. Lorraine just stood there looking at Philippe who finally said, “Well, what is the verdict. Can I hug or kiss you?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

“Either it hurts, or it doesn’t. What is there to figure out?”

“I don’t feel much pain. It is more just uncomfortable—at least at the moment. I’m not sure—” Lorraine was cut-off midsentence as Philippe grabbed him and gave him a tongue-twisting kiss. Lorraine began returning the kiss then suddenly pulled away. “That hurts, that hurts.”

“Can’t you just work through the pain? Experiment a little with your masochistic side.”

“You forget, love, that I am the one who likes to dish out the pain. I’m not good on the receiving end of it.”

“Do you think some wine would dull the pain?”

“My, but you are persistent tonight.”

“I’m desperate and horny as hell. I can’t believe you aren’t, too.”

“I am, but pain tends to drive away those feelings.”

“I will be very gentle with you. I promise.”

“My dear Philippe, you are about as gentle as a bull in heat when it comes to sex. Let’s get something to eat and have a little wine and I will let you know how I’m feeling then, OK?”

“Marda fixed us some kind of casserole. We can dish it out and microwave it. There’s also some freshly made rolls.”

Soon they were sitting on opposite sides of the table, eating. Philippe watched almost every move Lorraine made. “Philippe, if you don’t stop staring at me, I’m going to scream at you!” Philippe made a face and looked up at the ceiling. Philippe wasn’t sure how he felt about drinking the wine, but after the first few sips he felt like his stomach could handle some wine—in moderation. Lorraine, on the other hand, downed two glasses very quickly. He took a third glass and the bottle of wine to the couch.

“Let’s start with just a little kissing.”

Philippe practically broke his neck getting over to the couch. He sat next to Lorraine and gently kissed his lips. “Is that okay?”

In answer, Lorraine ran his fingers along Philippe’s jaw and kissed Phillipe, just a little more passionately. He stopped, resting his lips gently on Philippe’s as he judged his body’s reaction. Then he bit Philippe’s bottom lip and kissed him, giving him some tongue this time. He groaned a bit but couldn’t stop. His need was too urgent. He gently pushed Philippe’s head back exposing his neck and began kissing and sucking that fine, soft skin. He found that soft spot just above the clavicle and kissed it, then slowly made his way to the side of Philippe’s neck, pushing his dark, curly hair out of the way as he made his way up to the juncture of the jaw and ear. Philippe was content to let him take the lead and offered himself up to Lorraine.

Lorraine’s hands moved to pull up Philippe’s tee shirt while he nibbled and sucked on Philippe’s ear lobe. He removed Philippe’s tee shirt with one smooth motion. Philippe raised his arms to accommodate the motion. Philippe was unbuttoning Lorraine’s shirt now. He yearned for the smooth touch of Lorraine’s bare skin on his. Every so often, Lorraine would emit a low groan. Philippe whispered, “Is it hurting?”

Lorraine answered with, “Just a little, but I’ll be okay.” Lorraine kept taking swigs of wine and poured himself another glass of wine when the third was empty. “Do you want some wine, Philippe?”

“No, I’ve had enough, you drink it.” Lorraine drained the glass and poured another, emptying the bottle. He drained that one, then slipped down to the floor and began working on removing Philippe’s pants. Now it was Philippe’s turn to moan as Lorraine’s hands made their way up Philippe’s now bare inner thighs. Lorraine bent forward to kiss Philippe while he ran his hands along the tops of Philippe’s thighs. Philippe moaned when Lorraine wrapped his hand around the shaft of his cock. He moaned again, when Lorraine’s mouth made contact, then moaned even louder when Lorraine took the entire length in his mouth. Lorraine began the slow movement up and down letting his tongue caress the tip before going back down again. Lorraine ignored his own pain as he worked to bring Philippe to release. Philippe’s loud, “Oh, godddd!” let Lorraine know he had accomplished his goal as he swallowed Philippe’s seed. Philippe half moaned, “Oh god, I needed that” as he bent to kiss the top of Lorraine’s head then flopped backward against the couch. “How are you doing, my love? Do you want me to do you next?”

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“I would be gentle. If you’ve got an erection, it will have to come down some way.”

“I don’t think I could stand for it to be touched right now.” Lorraine painfully rolled off his knees into a sitting position. He did indeed have an erection and it hurt like hell.

Philippe looked at Lorraine’s erection then saw the pain in his face. “What can I do to help?”

Lorraine sat back against the couch and answered, “I have no idea.”

“Do you want more wine? I can open another bottle for you.”

“I’ve already drank more than enough.”

“Do you want an ice pack?”

“Oh god, no.”

“Heating pad?”

“No.”

Philippe slid off the couch to sit on the floor beside Lorraine. He put his head on Lorraine’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“I could have stopped at any time, but I didn’t.”

“Please let me try—if it hurts, tell me and I’ll stop. If it already hurts why not let me try and relieve you. The sooner you get release, the better you will feel.”

Lorraine thought for a few minutes. There was no telling how long this erection might last and as long as he was erect, it was going to hurt. “Okay, but don’t bend it. Keep it straight and be slow and gentle.”

Philippe quickly tried to get into position. It was very awkward—he would have to lean on his elbows. “Do you think you could lie down? I’m afraid I might slip and hurt you like this. I’ll help you.”

Philippe stood up and gently pulled Lorraine away from the couch and helped him lay down on his back, then straddled him on his knees. He slowly leaned forward and took the tip in his mouth. Lorraine groaned loudly but said, “keep going.” Philippe worked his mouth ever so slowly and gently down Lorraine’s swollen cock. Lorraine groaned again and said, “That’s good, keep going.” He was now committed to having Philippe bring him to release no matter how bad it hurt. Philippe worked slowly.

Lorraine said, “Go a little faster.” Philippe complied, and he thought the next sound Lorraine made was more of a moan of pleasure than a groan of pain. He felt Lorraine’s hips reacting to him and thought that was a good sign. The next sound Lorraine made was definitely a moan of pleasure. Then on Philippe’s next movement downward, Lorraine grabbed a handful of Philippe’s curls to stop him. Lorraine arched his back and pushed his cock into Philippe’s mouth, crying out loudly as he filled Philippe’s mouth with his seed, almost gagging him with his unexpected thrust. Then Lorraine collapsed and released Philippe’s hair. He breathed a sigh of relief. Philippe asked, “Are you okay?”

Lorraine said, “Much better thank you. Damn that was the strangest mix of pain and pleasure. Not that I want to do it again anytime soon.”

“Do you think you can stand up now?”

“Yes, the pain is just a dull ache now. But I am afraid I will need to sleep in the guest room again tonight. I don’t want to take the chance of getting aroused again during the night.”

“At least I will sleep better now, thanks to you my sweet Chevalier.”

“As will I, my mignonette.”

Philippe stood up then helped Lorraine up. Lorraine went to take his shower while Philippe decided to play his keyboard, so he wouldn’t hear the sounds of Lorraine showering and get aroused again.

They both slept better that night. When Lorraine came home the next night, he surprised Philippe by giving him a long, deep kiss, pushing him onto the couch and climbing on top of him. Philippe could feel Lorraine’s hard cock pushing against him and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“Not at all, my love. Claudine’s estimate about my healing was spot on. I feel good as new.”

“Then can I fuck you tonight?”

“Yes, please.”

They didn’t even bother to eat or drink any wine.


	34. He Should Have Known Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They decide on a honeymoon destination. Lorraine and Philippe get some practice in. Lorraine uses bad judgement and gets sued at work.

Over the next week, Philippe and Lorraine poured over the brochures on Greece their travel agent had given them. They decided on the Santorini area because it offered so much. Formed by an ancient volcano, the area offered beaches of black, red or white sand, white-washed houses clinging to the steep cliffs, spectacular sunsets, sparkling blue water, and an atmosphere charged with beauty and mystery. The rich volcanic soil produced a rich bounty of food supplemented by the offerings of the sea. In the nearby village of Finikia, ancient wineries had been turned into multi-colored houses—a contrast from the normal white-washed homes—and boasted hand laid cobblestone streets and many fine tavernas. The medieval city of Santorini had a Venetian castle that once housed the homes of the nobility. Santorini had its own locally grown and bottled wine, Vinsanto, grown in volcanic vineyards that were over 3,200 years old. The wild beauty, the rich history and mythology, and the unique volcanic setting intrigued and beckoned Lorraine and Philippe.

Philippe’s main concerns were privacy, good food, and good wine—Santorini offered all three and so much more. He wasn’t that interested in fishing, scuba diving, or hiking, but he told Lorraine he wouldn’t mind doing some horseback riding and wouldn’t mind taking a boat to see the area from the sea. They both liked the island of Oia because it was somewhat isolated and not so touristy, but still in the area.

That narrowed down their choices of hotels considerably. Philippe wanted a villa or something similar, so they’d have privacy. On the sixth night they were sitting on the couch drinking wine and going over a brochure on a hotel called Mystique—a collection of suites and villas. Two villas interested them both—the Secrecy and the Mystery Villas. The Mystery Villa was the ultimate in luxury and privacy but came at a hefty price. All of them had private balconies—the Secrecy Villas had private plunge pools while the single Mystery Villa had an infinity pool. All had jacuzzies in-room as well as a separate glass-cabin shower with steam bath combination. Each suite/villa had their own dining room with in-room dining available. There were also several other dining options including an open-air restaurant specializing in local Mediterranean cuisine. Of interest was the Secret Wine Cave—a one hundred and fifty-year-old wine cellar where they could book a private room for a private wine tasting of the rare wines and the homegrown and bottled Santorini wines followed by a private candlelight dinner.

Philippe loved what he read about the area but was concerned about the cost. Lorraine told him, “Look, you have made me limit our wedding to thirty guests—that will save us a lot of money since, if I had my way, we would have a lavish and expensive wedding. I think we can afford to indulge ourselves in the honeymoon. Just think of going to that cave for a private wine-tasting and dinner, then going back to our room and making love out on that private balcony under the beautiful Greek sky with gentle sea breezes. If we wanted, we wouldn’t even have to leave the room. Sleep in, sunbathe, jump in the pool, make love in that beautiful king-size bed, in the jacuzzi, in the pool or just out on the deck in one of those recliners. Relax, eat, have sex all day long. It’s the perfect honeymoon!”

“Well, if you put it that way, it does sound pretty good. It would be very memorable.”

“Good, I’ll call the travel agent and have her see if she can book the Mystery Villa for us. If it’s not available, then we can go with one of the Secrecy Villas.”

“Tell her we could make a small adjustment in our visit dates if it meant we could get the Mystery Villa.”

“Well, we need to have a firm date, so I can start making arrangements for the wedding. We’ve got a short turn-around for it compared to the normal time it takes to plan a wedding.”

“We could still elope. Call Fabien and Claudine and tell them to meet us at city hall so they could be our witnesses.”

“I thought you were on-board for the thirty-guest wedding!”

“I am, but if you feel too pressured, that is an option. I don’t want you so stressed out you can’t enjoy the wedding.”

“I promise, I won’t let myself get stressed. But thank you for thinking of my welfare, mignonette.” Lorraine bent over and kissed Philippe softly on the lips.

Philippe responded by pushing his Chevalier onto the couch and crawling on top of him. As he pushed his body against Lorraine’s he said huskily, “All this talk of the ways we could have sex on our honeymoon has excited me. Do you feel it?”

“Yes, what do you want to do about it?”

“What do you think?” Philippe kissed his Chevalier hungrily as he worked on getting his shirt off. The Chevalier responded to the kiss while working on Philippe’s clothing.

“Maybe we should practice for the honeymoon. Pretend there is a night sky above us filled with stars.” Philippe replied with a grunt as he pulled the Chevalier’s pants off. Before long all their clothes were strewn over the floor close to the couch as the two of them writhed on the couch, bare skin against bare skin, mouths and hands exploring, caressing, prodding, sucking, kissing. Lorraine felt Philippe moving downward and stopped him by taking his face in both hands, “No, let’s go to the bedroom, we need to fuck tonight, and we can’t do that comfortably on this couch.”

Philippe didn’t argue. He got to his feet and pulled the Chevalier to his feet. They continued their kissing and embraces as they made their way to the bedroom. The Chevalier crawled on the bed first and reached over to the nightstand to get the oil out. Philippe crawled on the bed and straddled him.

“Here, let me have the oil.” Lorraine handed him the oil and laid back. Philippe used the oil to lubricate himself first then told Lorraine, “Hand me those two pillows.” Lorraine reached back and grasped first one pillow handing it to Philippe, then grabbed the other. Philippe told him, “Bend your legs and raise your hips.” Lorraine complied, and Philippe put the pillows under Lorraine’s hips. Next, he poured oil onto Lorraine’s cock and rubbed it in, then worked the oil down and into Lorraine’s crack. Lorraine moaned as Philippe worked the oil in with his fingers. He then grasped each of Lorraine’s buttocks and raised him even more. He slowly slipped his cock into Lorraine. “Is this good?” Lorraine moaned in answer. Philippe started with slow, easy strokes, then began increasing the speed and intensity of his thrusts as his excitement grew. He grunted and groaned as Lorraine made his own guttural sounds. As his orgasm took over his body, he arced his back and thrust harder, spilling his seed into Lorraine. He finally collapsed onto Lorraine and kissed him. “Give me a few minutes, then it will be your turn.”

Lorraine waited until Philippe’s breathing returned to normal, then he rolled over with Philippe until he was on top. He got onto his knees beside Philippe then pushed Philippe onto his stomach. “Up.” He helped Philippe get to his knees, elbows on the bed, ass in the air. Lorraine used the oil to prepare Philippe, then added more to his cock. It was his turn to ease himself into Philippe and Philippe’s turn to moan. “You good?” Philippe grunted “yes.” Then Lorraine had his way with Philippe. They both grunted, moaned and groaned as Lorraine thrust his way to orgasm. “Godddd!” he shouted as he collapsed, exhausted onto Philippe knocking him to lay flat on the bed with Lorraine on top of him. He nuzzled Philippe’s neck and managed to say between heavy breaths, “I think we’ve got that down perfect.” Then he rolled onto his back, off Philippe. “Do you think we can survive a week of doing nothing but this? I think we need to schedule a few other activities, just so we don’t wear each other out.”

“Yes, we might need to take another week just to recuperate from the vacation.”

“Then we’d need another week to recuperate from that week. Damn, we are two horny bastards.”

Philippe rolled over into Lorraine’s arms. “Yes, we certainly are. But soon, we’ll be an old married couple and we’ll be bored with each other.”

Lorraine, kissed Philippe’s cheek. “I will never get tired of you, mignonette.”

“Nor I of you, my Chevalier.”

They slowly drifted off to sleep.

A few days later, Philippe was waiting for Lorraine to come home, but when Lorraine came through the door, the frown on his face let Philippe know something was wrong. He went over and kissed Lorraine on the cheek. “You look upset. Hard day at work?”

Lorraine sighed and said, “Yes. A very bad day.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Let’s eat first.”

“Sure.”

They sat down to eat the meal Marda had prepared for them.

“Philippe, did you have a good day?”

“Yes, did more work on the music for your runway shows and I did some reading.”

“Good, I’m glad you are keeping busy. I did get one piece of very good news. We got the reservation for the Mystery Villa!”

“That is great! Not that I wouldn’t mind the other place—there really doesn’t seem to be too much difference between them.”

“Maybe because there is just one Mystery Villa, it seems more special.”

“Yes, that could be it!”

They returned to their meal and the happy smile on Lorraine’s face faded as he thought of whatever it was that was bothering him.

Philippe didn’t like the distracted look in Lorraine’s eyes and ate his food faster, so he could find out what was wrong.

Soon enough, they had finished eating, cleaned up and were sitting on the couch by the fire drinking wine. Philippe took Lorraine’s hand in a show of support against whatever was bothering him.

Lorraine sighed and said, “This is probably going to upset you, and I’m sorry.”

“Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll get over it.”

“I’m being sued for workplace sexual discrimination.” Lorraine looked at Philippe to see his reaction.

Philippe just blinked and stared back at Lorraine. He finally said, “Please explain.”

Lorraine sighed and said, “I should have seen this coming. It started a couple of years ago. Steven, my logistics manager and I, well, we had a something of a long-term relationship.”

“I thought you didn’t do long-term relationships?”

“I didn’t. To me it was just sex. I thought it was the same for him. We didn’t date—I never took him out for dinner or anything like that. It started with him coming into my office and I’d tell my secretary to hold my calls and give me some privacy for an hour.”

“You spent an hour with him?”

“No, usually we were done fairly quickly but better to allot more time than to have someone walk in on us.”

“How did it become a relationship, then?”

“He wanted us to do more than we could do in my office, so I invited him to come to my house. I made sure he always left afterwards—no overnights. I warned him that I was not going to stop seeing the young men I dated. I told him we would never be exclusive. He seemed okay with that.”

“You thought you were getting strings-free sex, didn’t you? You do know there is no such thing.”

“Yes, I knew, but I ignored my own misgivings. My secretary must have said something to personnel because, the personnel manager came to talk to me. It was an awkward conversation because I was the personnel’s boss, but he was obligated to warn me about the repercussions of me, a boss, having sex with someone I supervised.”

“I decided then, it was best to stop it. When I told Steve we couldn’t be together, he begged me to keep seeing him—that he’d grown addicted to the sex. He even said he would quit his job if we didn’t continue our get togethers. He was the best logistics manager I had ever had, and I didn’t want to lose him. We started going to hotels. And always, I treated it just as a purely sexual encounter—no affection, no long kisses. None of that.”

Philippe gave him that wry look of his, “But he took it personally, didn’t he?”

“Yes. The truth was, I was dating a string of gorgeous young men and my trysts with him were really just routine sex to me—nothing special. I wanted to call it off, but I didn’t want him to quit his job.”

“So, when did you end it with him?”

Lorraine looked at Philippe before answering, “This is where you might get upset.”

Philippe sighed and closed his eyes for a second, “Go ahead, get it out.”

“I was still seeing him after you and I started seeing each other.”

“For how long?”

“For a while. I reduced the number of times I saw him a week, but we still got together a time or two a week. When I realized I was falling for you, I called it quits. That was before I had the dreams and realized I was your Chevalier.”

“And did he quit?”

“No, I eventually had to fire him. I told him I wouldn’t see him anymore, but he kept coming to my office and begging me. He also started various rumors about me at work. Basically, he made himself such a nuisance and distraction, I felt I had no choice.”

“What did personnel say about that?”

“They had told me not to fire him under any circumstances.”

“Yet, you did and now he is suing you.”

“Yes. At first, I didn’t hear anything from him and thought the matter had been settled. Personnel told me today about the law suit. I am so sorry for continuing to see him after you and I started seeing each other. I can make excuses and say I didn’t realize how much I was falling for you or that I didn’t know at the time, how to be exclusive after years of  juggling multiple relationships, but there really is no excuse.”

Philippe sat looking at Lorraine with no emotion showing on his face.

“Philippe are you mad at me?”

“I should be. But in some weird way I understand. You put up with my mess with Paul. Besides, I’ve had my share of pure sex relationships. I understand where you were coming from.”

Lorraine let out a big sigh and hugged Philippe and kissed him. “I was so worried you’d be upset and mad at me!”

“What are you going to do about this?”

“I don’t know. The lawyers are going over my options and will let me know tomorrow or the day after. It’s going to be a big mess when it hits the tabloids. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to publicly separate yourself from me.”

“How could I do that? We are engaged to be married. I would look like a total ass if I didn’t stand beside you on this. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Aren’t you afraid it might hurt the release of your album?”

“No, controversy is always good at a record release. At least this gossipy kind is good.”

“Philippe, this isn’t gossip stuff. This is the gay version of the ‘me-too’ movement and I’m the villain. In the public’s eyes, I am the big bad boss who took advantage of a worker.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it like that. You will have to prove that he wouldn’t take no for an answer, then.”

“But it is his word against mine. I am so afraid this is going to ruin our wedding. God, I hate myself right now for not handling this better.”

“The lawyers will come up with something. That’s why you pay them the big bucks.” Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and kissed his forehead then his lips softly. “No matter what, you will still have me.”

“You’d like it if I lost my company. Then we’d have to have a simple, inexpensive wedding.” Lorraine teased.

“You read me like a book, love.”

“You don’t really think that do you?  I was just kidding!”

“I know you were. You know I would never want you to lose your company, just like I know you would never want me to lose my music. Those things are important parts of who we are.”

They kissed. It was the start of a long, slow make-out session That night, their passion for each other was tender and loving rather than the usual manic, urgent need. They took their time with each other, exploring a new facet to their love. The Chevalier had never seen Philippe so caring and devoted. It ended the same way as other nights, as the slow burn suddenly burst into a flaming fire—a fire that burned hotter than it had ever burned before. After they had exhausted themselves, they lay wrapped in each other’s arms, reveling in this newfound sense of contentment and joy. Let the world throw whatever it could at them. Together they would face the world, and no matter the outcome, they knew they had each other.


	35. It's Easier To Just Say No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine meets with the corporate lawyer about the lawsuit. Philippe asks Fabien to check into the lawsuit. Lorraine finds Philippe is not very helpful in planning their wedding.

Lorraine squared his shoulders, straightened his back and walked as confidently as he could into the room where his company lawyer and personnel team awaited him. He hoped that he was exuding confidence although inside he was a nervous wreck. He smiled and sat in the chair at the head of the conference table his eyes passing over each of those in attendance trying to get a feel for their mood.

His lawyer, Mr. Salier, spoke first. “Good morning, Mr. Lorraine. There are some questions we would like to ask you, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead, I want to get this matter settled as quickly as possible, so I will tell you anything you need to know.”

“That is good to know. Now, who initiated this relationship, you or Mr. Waldon?”

Lorraine thought carefully before answering, “Mr. Waldon did. He came into my office saying that he needed to talk to me about an urgent matter. I assumed it was a business matter. He insisted that I close the door to my office and tell my secretary that we should not be disturbed.”

“Didn’t that seem odd to you?”

“No, I just assumed the matter was a sensitive one and he wanted to ensure we couldn’t be overheard.”

“Uh hmm. Go on.”

“He sat in the chair and told me that he had something to confess. I assumed it had something to do with business. I was shocked when he told me that he loved me.”

“What exactly did he say?”

“He said, ‘I love you’ just like that. Then he got out of the chair and came around my desk and took my hand and kissed it.”

“You had no idea he had these feelings for you?”

“Well, I suspected. He had flirted with me a lot before that. And I did find him attractive. But I told him I couldn’t date him because I was his boss and it wasn’t right.”

“Are you ready to swear to that under oath? Is there anyone who can verify that?”

“Yes, I would swear to that under oath because that is what he said. And no, we were the only two in the room. I didn’t confide in anyone about it either.”

“What happened after that?”

“I told him he was a very good-looking guy and that surely he could meet someone else outside of work. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings because I truly liked him as a person. Also, he was a very valuable employee and did an outstanding job as logistics manager.”

“But you did have a sexual relationship with him, correct?”

“Yes, he kept pushing me about it, and frankly, I was very attracted to him.  He wouldn’t give up and eventually I gave in. I warned him that we could not be exclusive, and he said that didn’t matter to him, that he just wanted to have sex with me. He knew that I was seeing other men at the time.”

“So you dated him?”

“No, we never dated. I never took him to dinner. Or promised my love to him. I always made sure he knew it was just sex and he always said that was fine with him.”

“Where did you have your first sexual encounter?”

Lorraine squirmed a bit in his seat before answering, “In my office. He, uh,” Lorraine hesitated, trying to find the right words, “He gave me a blow job.” He didn’t know how else to put it. He saw how uncomfortable everyone at the table suddenly were, but barreled on, “Then I gave him one.”

Mr. Salier cleared his throat then asked, “Can you define that for us?”

Lorraine looked a little incredulous. “I thought everyone knew what that was! But, okay, he sucked my penis until I had an orgasm and then I did the same to him. Does everyone understand that? He and I are homosexual. That is what we do.” Lorraine was getting angry at this whole procedure.

“How did the relationship continue?”

“He came to the office three or four times a week and that’s what we did. But that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted more, and we couldn’t do that in an office. I tried to end it several times telling him it just wasn’t right, and he threatened to quit so we could continue the relationship unimpeded. I didn’t want that, so I finally consented to have him come to my house. I know it wasn’t right, but I did it anyway. I didn’t need the sex from him. I was already seeing two other people who more than satisfied me. I continued because he wanted it and it was the only thing that made him happy.”

“Again, you will swear to that under oath?”

“Yes.”

“When he came to your house, what did you do?”

Lorraine sighed and said, “I suppose you want a detailed accounting. Okay, here it is and I’m sorry, but I don’t really know how to say it any better, but we fucked each other in the ass. Look, we are not any different than a male-female when it comes to sex only we don’t have vaginas. Still a man will fuck a woman in the ass and a woman will give a man a blow job. It’s all just sex, no matter who you are.”

There was dead silence in the room after that little outburst. Lorraine laughed to himself. Well, he had truly made everyone uncomfortable, but they wanted the truth and he gave it to them.

Lorraine continued, “The thing is, I NEVER told him I was in love with him. I never let him stay overnight. We had sex and he left. I never even kissed him because I felt that was too personal. I constantly tried to end it with him, but he begged and pleaded with me not to.”

“How did the relationship end?”

“I stopped the office meetings after he started coming to my house and I slowly cut down the number of times he came over. I am a busy man and my job doesn’t stop at the end of a work day. Many of the social events I go to, I do to make contacts for my business, so I had legitimate reasons to not see him. But he started coming over late at night—many times drunk. I have security, so he didn’t get far, but it concerned me. I was worried about his mental health. As I said, he was a good employee and I liked the man. I asked personnel if there was any kind of intervention we could do for him. That is how they got involved.”

“What did personnel tell you to do?”

“They told me he was eligible for counseling under our insurance plan, so I tried to talk to him about that, but he said he didn’t need it. He started drinking more then he started spreading rumors around the business.”

“What sort of rumors?”

“This is only what I heard from other people. I never heard it from him. People told me he was saying I was HIV positive, then that I had AIDS. I am very pro-active on that. All my employees have insurance that cover HIV testing every three months if they desire it—everyone no matter their sexual preference. I personally get tested every three months and I require any one I have sex with to also be tested. It is the world we live in today.”

“Was that the only rumor?”

“No. He told people I enjoyed sadist-masochist sex, you know bondage and hurting each other, that sort of stuff. I have no interest in that at all. I abhor pain. He was making a real nuisance of himself. I had personnel call him in and warn him that he needed to stop being disruptive in the work place and to stop spreading rumors and lies. Then his drinking got worse and the job he was doing suffered. He made quite a few very costly errors.” Lorraine stopped for a moment and glared at the personnel people before continuing, “I talked to personnel and they told me that because of our previous relationship that I really shouldn’t fire him. They gave him more warnings and he just got worse. Finally, he made a mistake that cost me $25,000 and made me miss an important deadline with a client. That was the last straw and I fired him.”

“Against the advice of personnel?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Salier made some notes in his notebook while everyone sat in silence. Finally, he spoke, “I don’t see how you can contest this lawsuit. You did have a sexual relationship with this man, and you were his boss. You were also warned by personnel not to fire him, but you did.”

“And there is nothing you can do?”

“No.”

Lorraine wanted to punch everyone in that room, but instead he curbed his anger and said, “Then good day to you all.” He got up and walked out the door. He went to his secretary and told her he was finished for the day and left the office.

Philippe was shocked when he saw Lorraine come in. “What is wrong? Why are you home? Did the meeting go well?”

“No, the meeting was horrible. I hired an idiot for a company attorney. Personnel isn’t much better. They say there is nothing I can do. They say I am guilty as charged. I was hoping at least ONE of them would speak up and support me. But no one did.”

Philippe said, “There has to be something we can do. Maybe Fabien has some ideas. Maybe he’s seen something like this before. Did you see him outside when you came in?”

“Yes, I think I did. He was talking to one of my security people I think.”

“Let me call him, then.” Philippe called Fabien and asked him to come in to talk to them.

Fabien was there in a matter of minutes. Philippe told Lorraine to tell Fabien everything they had said at the meeting. Lorraine sighed and told him everything.

Fabien listened intently and was quiet for a bit as he tried to understand the situation.

His first words were, “Corporate idiots. Has no one asked what this guy’s motive is?”

Lorraine answered, “We never discussed that. I assume it is some sort of revenge against me.”

“Yes. Revenge. How long ago did you fire him?”

“It’s been a while. I guess it was a little after I met Philippe.”

“Yes. Did he know about you and Philippe?”

“No, not at the time. I was still seeing him occasionally when I started seeing Philippe. I guess the reason I finally broke totally with him was I realized I had strong feelings for Philippe.”

“Jealousy could be a factor, too, then.”

Philippe asked, “Remember those tabloid photos of us that caused all the problems between Paul and I? Do you think he saw those?”

Lorraine answered, “He very well could have and now it is pretty much common knowledge that we are living together.”

Fabien said, “I believe that is why he is suing you now. He wants revenge because you wouldn’t have a relationship with him, but you started one with Philippe. Do you have the paperwork on the lawsuit?”

“Yes, let me get it.” Lorraine went to his desk and pulled out the papers and handed them to Fabien.

Fabien went through the papers and entered some information into the notebook on his phone.

Philippe asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Find proof that will end this lawsuit, if I have your permission to spend my time on it, Philippe.”

“Yes, by all means, go for it!”

Lorraine told him, “I’ll pay you for your time and give you a bonus if you find anything that will help.”

Philippe told Lorraine, “No, let me get this, love!”

Fabien said, “I’ll let the two of you hash this out. I’ll keep you both updated on anything I find.” Then Fabien left.

Lorraine said, “You know I used to hate that man, but not anymore!”

“If anyone can help you, Fabien can! Are you home for the day, then?” Philippe asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yes, I was going to make some calls about our wedding. I have some reservations to make.”

Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and said, “That sounds nice, but I had something else in mind, first.”

“And what would that be, mignonette?”

Philippe kissed Lorraine softly. “Maybe a little of this. Or a lot of this.” He kissed him more passionately, tongue in play.

“You know how to chase my worries away.” Lorraine returned the kiss and pushed Philippe towards the bedroom. Lorraine didn’t have a worry in the world by the time Philippe got done with him. A few hours later they were laying in the bed, naked and exhausted.

Philippe said, “I think I have worked up quite an appetite. How about you?”

Lorraine answered, “Me too. But after that last go-around, I need a few minutes to get my strength back. Damn, you’re good at that!”

“Thank you. You’re not bad yourself. Are we going to have sandwiches?”

“Yes, that sounds good to me. How about grilled cheese?”

“Even better! I’ll go get things started.” Philippe got out of bed and put on a pair of sweat pants then went to the kitchen and got out the block of cheese and started slicing it. He was joined a few minutes later by Lorraine.

Soon they were sitting at the table eating their sandwiches.

Philippe asked, “Are you doing anything different for our wedding than you did for Claudine and Fabien’s?”

“I don’t think I want a string quartet for ours. I was hoping you’d have some ideas for music.”

“Hmm. Do you mind a little rock music?”

“Not at all. But we don’t want to impose upon your band mates. They should be able to enjoy themselves.”

“Good, that was what I was thinking, too. I know this guy who plays guitar and several years ago he played at a friend’s wedding and did a great job. His take on Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’ had the entire party in tears.”

“Wow, I am having a hard time envisioning that. But I’ll take your word on it. See if he’s interested in a paying gig, then. Here, I’ll start a list of things for you to do.” Lorraine reached over to the writing pad and  flipped to the next empty page and wrote down ‘Philippe’s To Do List’ and added that as the first item.

“Do you have any favorite flowers?”

“I like roses. Red ones. But I don’t know the name of many flowers. I’ll leave that up to you.”

“How about color?”

“Black.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not a funeral.”

“It isn’t? It’s the end of our single life.”

“I thought that ended when you moved in with me.”

“Yeah, I guess so. But black goes with a lot of colors. Again, though I’ll leave that up to you. I’d even wear pink to marry you.”

“How about purple?”

“Yes, I’m up for anything. What if we showed up in the nude? That would shock people.”

“I think it would be a bit much for my family. And you know Louis would have a fit.”

“Just an idea.”

“Besides, I have some amazing ideas for our wedding clothes. Would you mind if we had the wedding in the early evening?”

“Why so late?”

“I want to play with lights and candles. Can’t do that with any effect during the day.”

“How will that affect our honeymoon plans? I thought if we had it earlier we’d be in Greece by the evening.”

“Well, Greece is an hour ahead of us, so we’d gain a little time. Or we could spend the night at home and leave the next day. We’re taking the corporate jet, so we don’t have to deal with the airlines.”

“You can do that?”

“It’s my company. I own the jet.”

“Okay, it doesn’t really matter to me and if you want candles, that is a great idea. Very romantic.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine’s cheek. “With you in charge, it is going to be a beautiful wedding!”

“What kind of cake do you like?”

“You know I don’t eat a lot of cake. But I like pretty much any cake. Maybe not fruit cake, though. Don’t think that would be very good for a wedding.”

Lorraine sighed. “I guess I should have known I wasn’t going to get much help from you.”

Philippe said, “You are the expert when it comes to these things. I am not trying to be difficult. I just don’t have any opinion on a lot of this. I honestly don’t know what would work the best.”

“Okay. You are off the hook. I will run things by you before I make the actual reservations or orders just to be sure you are okay with them.”

“What would you say if I wanted to wear a dress. I would make a beautiful bride.”

“Is that what you want? I can design a beautiful dress for you if so.”

“It would be fun, but then a dress can be pretty uncomfortable, and I don’t really want to mess with makeup and putting my hair up on that day.”

“So, no to the dress then?”

“No to the dress.”

“How do you like the idea that Fabien would be our best man and Claudine would be our matron of honor?”

“Excellent, I can’t think of anyone else I’d prefer!”

“Will your brother be okay with that?”

“It’s not like we are very close or anything. What about your brother? Would he feel left out?”

“He’ll understand. I was thinking we would have just groom’s men since we don’t really know many females. I think our brothers and your band mates would make good grooms men. That would be six. And I think that does it for the wedding party. I don’t think we need anyone to give us away. We’ll just walk up the aisle together.”

“That sounds great to me!”

“I don’t know what to do about our ‘minister.’ We don’t really go to  church anymore and I am not convinced the person who performed the service for Fabien and Claudine would be right for us.”

“I’ve got an idea. I have a friend who is into spiritual things and crystals and the like. She just happens to have a license to marry. She’ll do anything we want, but she has some good ideas that I think would fit us. Her name is Sunrise.”

“Okay, I’ll put that down on your list, ‘contact Sunrise.’ Have her call me or come by some evening and we’ll discuss it.”

“We have the reservation for the Mystery Villa, don’t we?”

“Yes, everything in Greece is all arranged. We just have to get there. Have you written any vows yet?”

“I’ve been working on it. Have you?”

“Yes, they are still a work in progress.”

“It’s difficult, isn’t it? Harder than writing lyrics for a song because I want them to be perfect.”

“Yes, I know. I keep thinking of things I want to say—but then we’d be there all night and half the next day.”

“Just remember that you and I know what we mean to each other. The vows are more for our guests—to tell them how we feel. My dear Chevalier, if you forget something you can tell me as we are making love afterwards—or the day after that, or the week after that.” Philippe took the Chevalier’s hand in his and raised it to his lips and kissed it. “We’ll have the rest of our lives to tell each other how much we love each other.”

“Yes, you are right. Now, I need to make some calls and you are distracting me. I need to take advantage of this time off.”

“Okay, I’ll go to my room and work on some music, so you can make your calls. Just one more thing.”

“What is that?”

“I know Fabien is going to find something that will make that guy drop the lawsuit. Fabien is that good.”

“You don’t think he’d try intimidation—a little roughing up? That wouldn’t be good.  It could make things worse.”

“Fabien is aware of that. He’ll find something. He always does.”

“Thanks for the pep talk. I’m trying to act positive. If I don’t I’ll fall apart.”

“Remember I am here if you need me. Now I’m going to my room.”

With Philippe gone, Lorraine got busy planning and writing down things. He called to arrange the seating, reserve the caterer and make an appointment to talk menu, reserve the bartender and bar. He called his favorite florist to make an appointment to talk to them. As he made the plans he thought it was probably good that Philippe was so accommodating on the details. It was easier for him to make the decisions and not have to squabble. Now if they could just get rid of that lawsuit. Fabien had to find a way, he just had to.

 


	36. Take It One Problem At a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabien makes some discoveries that help Lorraine in the lawsuit. They meet with a judge who gives them options for a conclusion to the lawsuit. Lorraine and Philippe choose a cake and flowers for the wedding.

It was several days before Fabien had news to report back to Lorraine and Philippe. He showed up at Lorraine’s home in the evening to tell them of his findings.

Lorraine anxiously asked, ”Well, what have you found out, Fabien?”

“My first instinct was to question the law firm that Mr. Waldon used. It doesn’t have a very good reputation for successful cases and there are other offices that are reasonable with good reputations. I found out that he had gone to quite a few law offices and they had all declined to take the suit. To me, that meant there was something in the suit that made it unwinnable.”

Philippe spoke up, “But, Lorraine’s lawyer said the case was air-tight against him. How can that be if the other law offices wouldn’t take the case?”

Fabien answered, “That is what I am investigating now. Something tells me that whatever it was that kept the other offices from taking the case has been buried or hidden. Don’t worry, I will uncover the truth and get this case dropped.”

“I would be very indebted to you if you did that! Thank you for your hard work, Fabien,” Lorraine answered. “I am just worried what this is going to do to my reputation and the reputation of my company.”

“Therefore, it is imperative that I solve this as quickly as possible. I will keep you up-to-date on my findings.”

“Thank you so much. Would you like a glass of wine or a beer?”

“No, it has been a long day and I have Claudine at home waiting for me.”

“Well, then go! We wouldn’t want you to keep her waiting!”

Fabien said his goodbyes and left.

Philippe hugged Lorraine, “Wipe that frown off your face. Fabien will find the truth and this case will disappear.”

“But I feel so guilty over it all. How can the case just disappear if I had sex with an employee in my office? The truth is, I think I am guilty.”

“The only thing you are guilty of is being a man with desires. He took advantage of those desires to weasel his way into your life and manipulate you. And right now, I want to take advantage of those desires myself.” Philippe kissed Lorraine softly. “You bring out the passion in me, my sweet Chevalier.” The next kiss was more intense and longer. Philippe pushed Lorraine towards the couch while his hands worked to unbutton and unzip his pants. With a few deft moves he had Lorraine de-panted and on the couch. Philippe bent to kiss Lorraine again and then kneeled before him.

“I love how you are always ready for me, my love,” Philippe said.

Lorraine answered with, “It is your touch, mignonette. All it takes is your lips on mine, your hands on me and I am ready to give myself up to you.”

Philippe never failed to awaken the passion and the hunger in Lorraine. Lorraine longed for Philippe’s touch every minute of the day and was only complete in these moments. Philippe could perform this act every night for a hundred years and it would never be enough for Lorraine. He needed this like he needed the air to breathe. Lorraine cried out as his body responded to Philippe’s touch and his desire was fulfilled.

Lorraine opened his closed eyes to see Philippe grinning at him—like the cat that ate the canary—only he, Lorraine, was the canary and he had been duly eaten. Huskily, Lorraine said, “I will never get enough of that!” and bent down to kiss Philippe. There was no thought of lawsuits in their minds, no worries. All they felt was the touch, the taste, and the passion, as they made slow, exquisite love to each other, exploring all the ins and outs of their bodies, completely wrapped in the ecstasy of their love, until they fell into an exhausted embrace on their bed, finally succumbing to sleep.

\------------

Several more anxious days passed before Fabien had more news for them. “I have uncovered a valuable resource—Mr. Waldon’s ex-roommate. He was a little reluctant to talk to me at first, but I convinced him it was in his best interest to talk to me. According to him, it was Mr. Waldon’s plan to set you up all along, so he could threaten you with a lawsuit then get a large settlement from your company.”

“But he hasn’t asked for any pay-off yet.”

“No, he is letting the pressure on you build to ensure the settlement will be larger. Have you had any success in replacing that lawyer of yours yet?”

“Yes, I have found a good replacement. I told him about your investigation and he wants to talk to you as soon as possible.”

“I am not sure the testimony of this ex-roommate will be enough. His lawyer can always say the roommate has a grudge against him and is lying. I feel like there is more for me to find and I intend on finding it.”

“Here is the lawyer’s number.” Lorraine handed the lawyer’s business card to Fabien. Maybe he can give you some insight on how legally strong that roommate’s testimony will be.”

Lorraine was thankful for Fabien’s investigation, but every day this lawsuit hung over his head was another day of anguish and worry. He wanted this to be over.

Several days later Fabien called Lorraine. “You need to call your lawyer and set up a meeting for us three. I have some very important news.”

Lorraine called the lawyer, and soon he, his new lawyer Mr. Samuels, and Fabien were meeting in his office.

Fabien began his revelation, “I decided to check into Mr. Waldon’s previous employment. There was something not quite right in the way he left each job. It took a lot of digging and convincing people to talk. None of his previous employers wanted to talk about the job he did for them or the circumstances surrounding his departure. But I finally got one to talk. They told me that Mr. Waldon had had sex with the CEO and had tried to sue just like he did with you. He had accepted a large payoff to settle the matter quietly. Armed with this information, I got the others to talk. They all have experienced the same situation. They are still reluctant to talk about it publicly because it could still hurt their reputations.”

Mr. Samuels exclaimed, “Mr. Marchal, that is brilliant work. Give me the names of these companies and the people involved. I will contact the judge in this case. I am sure he will recognize the sensitive nature of these cases. I believe he will want to talk with those previous employers in private. After that, I am sure that he will throw this case out as unfounded. You could proceed with the suit, and when the truth comes out, Mr. Waldon will face charges of extortion or something similar. But first, let me get through this meeting and see what the judge has to say. You need to be deciding if you want this case to disappear or if you want to pursue charges against Waldon. My fear is, if it is settled quietly, then he could do this again.”

Lorraine responded, “That is going to be a difficult decision. On the one hand, I just want this case gone. On the other hand, I do not want to allow him to go free and do this to some other unsuspecting employer. Anyway, Fabien, I want to thank you for all your hard work! You have done an excellent job!”

Lorraine waited anxiously for news from his lawyer and was finally told the meeting would be held the next day. He went home to Philippe that night and told him all that had transpired.

“See, I told you this would end well. That guy set you up. You shouldn’t feel guilty. You weren’t the only one to fall for his tricks.”

“That still doesn’t take me off the hook for having sex with an employee. This has made me examine my past behavior and I am afraid I have not been a very good person. While I was practical and never dated or had sex with any other employee, I did not treat many of my other lovers with respect. I hooked up with beautiful, famous young men and when I grew bored with them, I tossed them aside. I thought nothing of it at the time but feel mortified about it now.”

“Those young men threw themselves at you and were glad for the career boost you gave them by pulling them into your influential circle. I imagine most of them just moved on to the next rich, famous guy. It’s a game that has been played, and will be played, forever. What has changed is that you have changed and dropped out of the game. Now you know the reward of real love. There is nothing to feel guilty about. If I can get over the guilt I felt about Paul, you can get over this guilt. They are one and the same. We all make mistakes. We pay for them, then we move on.”

“Yes, you are right, as always.”

Philippe helped Lorraine forget his worries again that night.

The next day, Lorraine knew the judge was meeting with the previous employers and their lawyers. He waited anxiously for any news.

When Mr. Samuels called, he told Lorraine that he was needed at the meeting with the judge. When he arrived, Lorraine was surprised to see Fabien as well as Waldon and his lawyer arriving also. The judge said he wanted to meet first with the previous employers, their lawyers, Mr. Samuels and Fabien.

About an hour later Lorraine saw the previous employers and their lawyers leaving the judge’s chambers. Then he was called into the judge’s chambers to join Fabien and Mr. Samuels.

“Mr. Lorraine, I believe, without a doubt, that this lawsuit was a means for Mr. Waldon to try and extort money from you, and that he manipulated you to achieve that end. We can proceed in several ways. First, I can throw out the lawsuit deeming it without merit and you can do a counter-claim against Waldon for attempted extortion. If convicted, Waldon will spend time in prison. I think there is almost no doubt that he will be convicted or that he might even plead guilty for a lesser charge. However, you and your company will receive a great deal of press and attention that you might not want. The second alternative is for me to deem the lawsuit without merit, throw it out, and you can decline to press charges against Mr. Waldon. There is a possibility that, because of the other companies involved, the state may decide to pursue charges against Mr. Waldon anyway. Again, it will all be fodder for the gossip columns and the press. What are your feelings in this matter?”

“I know this sounds a little crazy, but I think Mr. Waldon has mental issues that need to be addressed. Sending him to prison will only make those worse. I would like to see Mr. Waldon receive a psychiatric evaluation and to be treated for his alcohol addiction. Then a decision can be made about any further charges.”

“You are a very forgiving man, Mr. Lorraine. I believe I can declare that the lawsuit has no merit and cite the fact that it was a set up by Mr. Waldon to try and extort you. At that point, details of the case will not be released, due to their sensitive nature and falsehood. That should clear your name completely. Then I can declare that the state has reasonable cause to bring a case of extortion against Mr. Waldon but that we are concerned for his mental health and his alcohol addiction. We can give him the option of undergoing evaluation and treatment with the possibility, if he completes both, of getting lesser charges brought against him.  If he does not want that, we will bring the original extortion charges against Mr. Waldon letting him know the harsh punishments he will face if he loses. I believe his lawyer will let him know the first option is in his best interest and we could make it well worth his while to plead guilty to the lesser charges without there ever being a trial. Are those options amenable to you?”

“Yes, those are very good options for me. Thank you for taking my reputation into consideration.”

“Then I will confer with the state and we will set up a court date—hopefully tomorrow—where I will declare the lawsuit invalid and explain the rest. I will call your lawyer with the time and date. Any further questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Then this meeting is ended.”

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief. This nightmare was going to be over. Now he could put all his concentration on the planning for the wedding. Tomorrow was going to be the meetings with the cake baker and the florist. He had asked Philippe to go with him. Philippe had reluctantly agreed when Lorraine explained that certainly he didn’t want to take chance that Lorraine would inadvertently choose a flavor of cake Philippe despised or flowers that he absolutely abhorred.

The next day was a busy one. They went to the bakery early in the morning—well, early for Philippe, nine in the morning. The baker had several flavors to offer them: vanilla-berry (a vanilla flavored cake with a strawberry cream filling), chocolate pecan (a chocolate cake with a toasted pecan filling), orange-carrot cream cheese (orange flavored carrot cake—no raisins—with cream cheese filling) and a vanilla bean cake with a chocolate mocha filling.

Philippe looked at all the samples before them and said, “That’s a lot of cake.”

“You only have to take a bite of each. You don’t have to eat the whole piece.” Lorraine explained.

“Good, because that much sweet would probably make me sick. Besides, what difference does the flavor make? Aren’t I supposed to shove it in your face anyway?”

“Don’t you dare! Promise me you won’t do that, and I will promise you I won’t do it either.”

“I can’t make a promise that I might not keep.”

“Okay, we will discuss this when we get home tonight. Now let’s start with the first one.” Lorraine picked up the fork and scooped up a bite and offered it to Philippe to taste.

Philippe took the fork and put it in his mouth. “I like strawberries. This one is good.”

“No, you need to taste them all before you make a decision!” Lorraine took a bite of the strawberry, “Oooh that is good.” Then he scooped a bite of the next cake up and offered it to Philippe.

“The pecans are good but I’m not sure about the chocolate with the pecans. The strawberry is better.”

Lorraine took his bite and answered, “Yes, I think you are right.”

“Don’t even bother with the carrot cake one. I don’t like carrot cake.”

“Okay. Then the last option is vanilla bean cake with chocolate mocha filling.” Lorraine handed the loaded fork to Philippe.

“The vanilla bean cake is good, and that filling isn’t bad, but I still like the first one better.”

Lorraine took his bite. “This is really good. Maybe we should have a one-layer alternative cake of this for people who might be allergic to strawberries.”

Philippe made a face, “Sure, whatever you want, it is good to me as long as all I have to eat is the strawberry filled one.”

“Good. Then it is settled. Did you get my design for the topper?” Lorraine asked the baker.

“Yes, I did.”

“Can you find someone to make it or should I look for someone?”

“I have an artist who can design it. It’s a very different choice.”

Philippe asked, “What’s a topper? What is he talking about?”

“The topper is the piece that goes on the top of the cake. Usually it is figurines of a bride and groom, or groom and groom in our case.  I am having a special one made for us and it is a surprise. I think you will love it.”

“I don’t know how many surprises I can take in one day. Don’t outdo yourself. And don’t make me look bad with all these wonderful things and I don’t do anything for you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Philippe. My biggest present will be that you are there to marry me. That is all I need.”

“You say that now.”

“And I mean it. Now we have to hurry if we’re going to make it to court on time.”

Lorraine settled with the baker and went over the order then they were off to court.

They made it to court with just minutes to spare. Lorraine was glad to have Philippe by his side as he listened to the judge make his judgement against the lawsuit and then they listened to the state present its charges against Mr. Waldon. Lorraine was relieved when Waldon agreed to the psychiatric evaluation and addiction treatment.

Lorraine was so glad that was over and hugged Philippe once they were outside. “I think we should go get some lunch, I’m hungry.”

“Well, I am not, after all that cake.”

“All that cake? You had three small bites. Come on, you don’t have to eat a lot, but you need some lunch. You are too thin.”

Lorraine dragged Philippe to a nearby soup and sandwich shop. He ordered a half ham and cheese sandwich with a cup of creamed mushroom soup for Philippe and a full sandwich and cup of the same soup for himself. He was glad when Philippe ate all his food. The soup was especially delicious. He couldn’t stomach canned soups, but the freshly made from scratch soup was excellent.

Afterwards they were off to the florists. He expected Philippe was going to be difficult about this. The florist led them to a consultation room that was filled with flowers and several books.

Philippe looked around and said, “Damn, there are a lot of flowers in this room.”

Lorraine took his arm and said, “Just samples for us to peruse, my love. Come let’s have a seat.”

Introductions were said, and the florist got down to it. “Did you have any specific colors or flowers in mind?”

Lorraine answered, “Philippe is fond of roses—red roses—and the color black.”

The florist answered with, “Well I have the perfect rose then. It is called a Black Magic Rose. It isn’t black but a very deep red with tinges of black in the center. Here is the sample.” He pulled a rose from the many flowers around them and handed it to Philippe.

Philippe’s eyes lit up. “I love it.”

Lorraine smiled. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all. “It’s going to be an evening wedding in August, so I want lots of white fluffy flowers that will glow in the candlelight.”

“We have the perfect peony—a beautiful white with a large head that is in season in August. Here let me show you in the book and I think I have a similar one to show you.” He turned to the August white peony in the book and pulled a white peony from those around them. “The August one has a much bigger head than this one, but you get the idea of the color.”

“That is really beautiful. I can just imagine what it will look like in candlelight.”

“It might mix nice with some burgundy-black mini calla lilies-they are a deep purplish black. Also white wedding astrantia could be used as a filler instead of the usual baby’s breath. The astrantia has ten or so small petals similar to a daisy that form a cup shape, and the center of the cup is filled with tiny white balls on thin white stems. Might I also mention some blackberry malina scabiosa as additional filler? The scabiosa is a small flower with a mounded center surrounded with small petals similar to a seedless sunflower. The one I am talking about is the color of blackberries. Let me show you samples of all these.” The florist found a sample of each of the flowers he had discussed.

Philippe asked, “Am I going to have to wear all this?”

Lorraine answered quickly, “No. You and I will wear the black magic roses in our lapels as will our wedding party. I will decorate with the other flowers. I’ll put them on the wedding arch and along the pathways and around the garden. Remember how I did all the flowers for Fabien and Claudine? Only it will be our flowers and color pallet with the white, the red and the black—well blackish purple.”

“In the candlelight, the purplish flowers will look black,” interjected the florist.

Philippe smiled and said, “I think it will be outstanding! You are doing a very good job, my love. I am very happy with all of this. Now I can’t wait to see the clothes you are designing for us!”

That was exactly what Lorraine wanted to hear! He finally had Philippe onboard! These were the biggest hurdles and the ones Philippe had been so reluctant to embrace. Overall, it had been a very good day. Little did he know that when they got home Philippe was going to make it an even better day for him with an increased passion in their love-making. Lorraine had thought they could not get any more passionate, but Philippe proved him wrong.


	37. After A Day At Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine designs their wedding clothes and brings the sketch home to Philippe. They enjoy a quiet (but far from boring) evening at home.

The next item on Lorraine’s wedding planning list was the clothing he and Philippe would wear. He already had a good idea of what he wanted. It was just a matter of putting it on paper and giving it to his people to turn it into reality.

He also had the material in mind for it: a beautiful brocaded silk blend. He was ecstatic that Philippe’s choice of colors went well with the fabric he had in mind. For Philippe, he would use the black version, black brocade embroidered with a swirling black and red pattern.  For himself, there was a white brocade embroidered with the same pattern only in red and white. He played with the design and settled on a fitted jacket that curved from the waist to a mid-thigh length at the sides and back. It would have slightly belled sleeves and cuffs with a three-inch split. The jacket had a red velvet standup collar and red velvet accents on the edge of the sleeves and up each side of the split. The pants would be of the same material with a thin red velvet stripe up the outer seam. The narrow legs ended in a slight bell like the sleeves, split at the sides and with the same red velvet trim. Under the jacket he would wear a white fitted shirt with loose sleeves ending in a lace cuff. At the neck would be a silk cravat similar to the ones worn at Versailles but not as full or long and accented by a red cabochon. They both would wear red velvet cummerbunds. Philippe would wear black leather boots while he would wear white leather boots.

With a little trepidation, he brought his sketch home to show Philippe with a sample of the materials to be used. He walked into the house and greeted Philippe, sketchbook in hand. Philippe gave him a hug and a kiss then asked, “What is that in your hand?”

“A little surprise for you.”

“Well, let me see it.” Philippe made a grab for it, but Lorraine twirled away out of his reach.

“Not so fast.” They played a little game of keep away until Philippe managed to grab the sketchbook and started going through it.

“Well, which of these sketches is your surprise? There are so many in here.”

Lorraine put his hand on the sketchbook and said, “If you had not grabbed the sketchbook out of my hands I would have shown you already.”

Philippe relented control of the sketchbook. “Well?”

Lorraine took his time flipping through the sketchbook while Philippe waited impatiently. “Yes, here it is. This is a sketch I have made of what you will wear at the wedding. Do you want to see it?”

“Yes, of course I do! Now show it to me!”

“Promise me that you will give it an honest review and not reject it outright just to be contrary.”

“When am I ever contrary?”

Lorraine rolled his eyes at Philippe. “When are you not? Okay, here it is.”

Lorraine turned the drawing around for Philippe to see. Philippe was quiet as he studied it. Lorraine offered him some examples of the material. “Here is the material for the suit. Isn’t it exquisite? And it is in the colors you wanted.”

Still Philippe made no comment. Lorraine was starting to get nervous. “Is it to your liking?”

Philippe’s face transformed from serious into a full, delighted smile. “My dear Chevalier, it is amazing how well you know me. This is perfect! It has just the right touches of Versailles without going overboard. And what of yours?”

“It will be the same suit and in the same material but in a white and red pattern with all the same trim. I will wear white leather boots and you will wear black leather boots.”

“You, in white? Isn’t that the color of purity? There is nothing about you, my dear, that is pure. And that is what I like about you.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine softly. “Let me feel that material. Oh, yes. That has a wonderful feel to it. It has body but isn’t too heavy and cumbersome. Another excellent choice.”

“I am thinking of Fabien wearing a similar suit in black with a red vest instead of a cummerbund and Claudine wearing a simple dress in the white and red. The groomsmen will wear a similarly cut suit but in a solid black with the red. I still need to work out the designs. I also need to get measurements for them all. Do you think you could call your brother and have someone on his staff send me the measurements for him and your mother? I want to make a red dress for your mother—that is if she likes red—do you know?”

“No, I do not have any idea, but I will call Louis and tell him what we need.”

Lorraine put his arms around Philippe. “I am so glad you like your suit and I am sorry for the remark about you being contrary. I know you get easily bored with these things and do not enjoy them like I do.”

“Well, I like dressing well and standing out. You achieve that very well for me!” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s neck softly. “And I enjoy undressing you—that is my pleasure.” Philippe unbuttoned Lorraine’s shirt and pulled his sleeve off his shoulder so he could work his lips down his neck to his shoulder. He unbuttoned the rest of the shirt and took it off Lorraine, dropping it onto the floor.

“Philippe, while I want to make love to you tonight, shouldn’t we eat a little supper first?”

“Who needs supper when I have you?” Philippe was running his hands over Lorraine’s chest, working them into his chest hair as his lips continued their journey across Lorraine’s neck. “I have waited all day for you to come home so we could enjoy this.”

“But Philippe, I need food. I need energy.”

“Then let me do all the work.” Philippe was kissing Lorraine’s chest working his way down. His hands were already at his waist, undoing the button on his pants, then unzipping his pants. He slipped a hand into the opening left by the unzipped zipper. Lorraine flinched as Philippe’s hand made contact. “I think we are a little shy today.”

“Philippe, I just got home after a long day of work. Oh god.” Lorraine groaned as Philippe’s hand wrapped around Lorraine’s cock. Philippe pushed his pants down with the other hand.

“There, that’s more like it.” Philippe ran his hand slowly up and down the length of Lorraine’s steadily growing cock. Philippe went to a kneel as his lips moved down the line of hair from Lorraine’s belly.

“Now what were you saying about food?” Philippe quipped before his mouth made contact.

Lorraine’s answer was a deep moan. There was no resisting Philippe now as Philippe proceeded to bring Lorraine to climax. Lorraine’s knees almost buckled but Philippe’s hands clutching his buttocks held him steady. Philippe asked, “Feeling a little more relaxed now?” as he stood up.

“Yes, but still hungry.”

Philippe grasped Lorraine’s hand and put it on his own crotch. “Maybe, if you did me next you wouldn’t be so hungry.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe, “My dear, I look forward to making you howl with pleasure— _after_ we have eaten some supper. I can smell the food now and it is making me weak.”

“Marda made us a meal and left it in the warming oven.”

“Good, then it won’t take long for us to eat supper and get on to pleasure.” Lorraine ran his fingers along Philippe’s jaw and chin. “Let’s eat some food and then I can take my time with you.”

Philippe relented and followed Lorraine to the table. Philippe had already thoughtfully opened a bottle of wine, so it could breathe and be ready for them. They ate their meal as Lorraine chatted about matters at his work. When they finished, they cleared away the dishes, then went to the couch to drink wine and relax.

Philippe knew better than to push Lorraine. He realized it was Lorraine’s way of building up suspense—or at least driving him to distraction.

“Let’s just relax a bit and drink some wine, shall we?” Lorraine told the impatient Philippe as Lorraine caressed Philippe’s face. “I have done nothing but run around in circles all day and I am exhausted.”

“Didn’t the food revive you?”

“Yes, it nourished my body, but now my mind needs a little time to kick back. I really like this new wine you bought. Very smooth,” Lorraine said as he took a long slow swig of wine. Lorraine was really working Philippe over with his procrastination. “So, my dear Philippe, how did your day go?”

Philippe sighed and replied, “It is driving me crazy not having anything to do. I can’t wait until we start working on our show for the tour. At least I will have something meaningful to do during the day.”

Lorraine pouted, “But then that will mean it will be closer to time for you to leave me for the tour. Are you saying you can’t wait to leave me?”

“No, not at all. It’s just that I have nothing to do all day but read and fool around with my music with no clear object in mind.”

“Aren’t you working on my runway music?”

“Yes, that is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. That and the thought of you coming home to me in the evenings.” Philippe gave Lorraine the saddest little look. Two could play at this game.

Lorraine took the bait. “My poor dear boy!” he replied as he put his arms around Philippe and gave him a hug. Philippe snuggled into the embrace. He knew what would happen, eventually, now that they had made physical contact. Lorraine kissed the top of Philippe’s head. Philippe raised his head putting their mouths in close contact and Lorraine couldn’t resist those soft, full lips. He kissed Philippe softly, but Philippe returned the kiss with intensity. Lorraine kissed him back lustily, taking Philippe’s face in both his hands.

“I do miss you during the day. I think of you a lot at work.” He pushed Philippe down onto the couch and lay on top of him as he kissed his lips, moved to his ear lobe and nibbled on it, then moved his mouth down his jawline to kiss his neck. Philippe lay back and gave himself up to Lorraine. Lorraine’s hands now worked their way down to the bottom of Philippe’s tee shirt and teased it up, kissing the bared skin as he uncovered it. He pulled the tee shirt over Philippe’s head pulling his arms up as he did so. He stopped and held Philippe’s arms down with his own hands as he pressed the length of his body hard against Philippe’s. Philippe realized Lorraine was on his way to a lot more than a simple blow job.

Lorraine whispered in his ear, “You are at my mercy now. Scream all you want.” Lorraine made a loose knot of Philippe’s tee shirt securing his hands above his head. Philippe knew he’d have no trouble freeing his hands from the tee shirt, but he had no desire to—it was all part of the game. Lorraine sat up to straddle Philippe, his hands now moving down to undo his pants. He stood up, so he could pull the pants down to Philippe’s ankles. While standing, he undid his own pants and shimmied out of them, then took off his shirt tossing both on the floor.  He pulled Philippe’s pants all the way off, tossing them to the floor. He crawled back on top of Philippe, straddling him on his knees, and sitting on Philippe’s legs, pinning Philippe to the couch. He leaned forward so his mouth could find Philippe’s neck again and make its way slowly down his body, sucking and kissing. His hands had made their way down to Philippe’s stomach then moved down further. He teasingly twirled his fingers in the coarse hair below his belly, as his mouth slowly worked its way down lower.

Philippe moaned loudly as Lorraine’s fingers wrapped around his cock and his mouth kissed the tip. Lorraine teased with his tongue, making Philippe moan and ache for more. Just when Philippe thought he couldn’t take anymore, Lorraine’s mouth slid down his shaft, then back up. Lorraine repeated the movements, as Philippe wrapped his fingers in the hair on Lorraine’s head. Philippe moaned as Lorraine brought him closer to release. He tried to hold out as long as he could but finally gave in, letting the waves of pleasure wash over him, crying out, “Oh god, yes!” Lorraine moved back up to kiss Philippe.

“Wait here, I’m not done with you,” Lorraine whispered in his ear. Lorraine went to the bedroom, leaving a satiated Philippe lying on the couch his hands still tied above his head by the knotted tee shirt. Philippe had no desire to get up, anticipating what might come next. Philippe smiled when he saw the oil vial in Lorraine’s hand as he came out of the bedroom. Lorraine grabbed some throw pillows off the other couch and threw them on the floor beside Philippe. With Philippe’s help he got the towels then the pillows under Philippe’s hips and raised Philippe’s legs as he got onto the couch and rested them on his shoulders.

Lorraine used the oil to prepare himself and Philippe. He gently inserted an oiled finger into Philippe. Philippe moaned softly in anticipation as Lorraine teased him with his fingers. Lorraine leaned forward and whispered in Philippe’s ear, “What do you want me to do now, love?”

Philippe responded, “Fuck me. Now!” Lorraine nibbled and bit his ear lobe, then moved his lips to Philippe’s throat. He was teasing Philippe, trying to make him beg. He gently brushed his lips over Philippe’s and stopped with their lips a hair’s breadth apart. Philippe felt Lorraine’s breath on his lips. Lorraine bit Philippe’s lower lip playfully, then kissed him, inserting his tongue between Philippe’s parted lips. Philippe met it with his tongue and they kissed deeply, igniting the fires that were already burning low. Lorraine pressed his cock against Philippe.

“Inside me. Please. I need it.”

Lorraine teased, “Tell me what you thought about today, love.”

“You inside me. Oh god, please!”

Lorraine teased him with his fingers again as Philippe groaned expectantly. Philippe cried out, “Oh yessss!” as Lorraine finally pushed himself gently into Philippe. With slow, short thrusts Lorraine worked his way deeper into Philippe as Philippe urged him on with, “Yes, deeper, love.”

Lorraine carefully increased intensity and depth, with Philippe grunting and moaning and encouraging him on. Lorraine found a rhythm that felt good with Philippe making small grunting noises with each thrust. Lorraine pushed Philippe’s knees into his chest as he changed direction and speed, growing ever closer to his own climax as he pummeled Philippe again and again. Incoherent cries escaped Lorraine’s lips as he felt the nerves in his cock fire sending waves of pleasure through him. After a few more thrusts, Lorraine let Philippe’s legs drop to the couch and he laid down on top of Philippe and kissed him softly.

“Now, that… is what… I... dream about... all day, love,” an out of breath Lorraine whispered.

Philippe pulled his hands out of the knotted tee shirt and put his arms tightly around Lorraine. “Me too, love,” Philippe answered.

Lorraine whispered, “Now, that is how I want to die.”

Philippe answered, “Don’t talk of dying. We still have plenty of life to live and plenty of sex to have. I still don’t know how sex is going to be any better in Greece than it is here. Why should we pay all that money when we can just enjoy each other here?”

Lorraine replied, “You just wait and see, love. You just wait and see.”

 


	38. Chapter 38 The Bachelor Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The countdown to the wedding has begun. Lorraine finds some work to keep Philippe busy creating a song for a TV show. Three days before the wedding, Lorraine flies his family in, just in time for his brother and father to attend the bachelor party that Fabien has arranged. Philippe and Lorraine enjoy their party just a little too much.

The next day, Philippe was moping around the house trying to figure out what he wanted to do when his phone rang. He answered it quickly because it was Lorraine. “Hi, love.”

“I hope you aren’t busy because I’ve set up an appointment for you.”

“An appointment? For what?”

“A friend of mine was in and he just happened to mention he is producing a new television show and he needs someone to create some music for it.”

“Music for a television show? I don’t really think that is something I would do well.”

“Just listen. The show is about a rock star whose career has stalled. He finds out he has an eight-year-old son by one of his previous lovers and she has died, and the boy needs a family. He reluctantly takes the boy in and the show is about the relationship they develop. He needs a theme song, hard rock based, and some music to play on the show. They need it fairly quickly, too.”

“You are serious about the hard rock aspect? I don’t want to do a fluff piece.”

“Talk to the guy yourself—bring him some of the tracks from your new album. If, after you talk to him, you don’t think it’s something you want to do that’s fine. Don’t do it. I just thought you might be interested. He might even want the band to perform it. What can it hurt to go see him?”

“Oh, okay. Give me the information.”

Lorraine told him when and where they were to meet. “Good luck, love.”

Reluctantly, Philippe went to meet with Lorraine’s friend, John Sanders. To his surprise, Sanders was not the Hollywood producer type he had expected. Sanders had shoulder length hair and dressed simply in jeans and a tee shirt. They greeted each other, and Sanders got down to business.

“I hear you have a new album coming out that is supposed to be something of a departure from your previous work.”

“Yes, Lorraine told me you might want to listen to a track or two. I’ve put some of them on my phone because so many people keep asking me about them. The simplest thing is just to play the songs rather than try and describe them.”

“Yes, I’d love to hear whatever you have.”

Philippe cued one on his phone. Sanders sat and listened intensely.

“May I hear more?”

Philippe cued the next and wound up playing them all. “I can’t imagine this style is something they’d want for a television show.”

“It is exactly the style I want for my show. I don’t know what you have heard about it, but it is not a sitcom or light-hearted piece. It is a drama—a serious look at the life of a rock star minus all the glamour and how a child can change a person. I want angst and raw emotion in the music defining the show.”

Sanders described, in detail, his ideas for the show and the pilot that had won over the network. “Do you think you can give me something suitable? I need it in the next few weeks, then we will need to get the music recorded just as quickly.”

“I don’t know if Lorraine told you, but he and I are getting married in a little over a month, then we’re going on a honeymoon. At some point after that, my band and I will start working on the show for our tour.”

“But are you doing anything pressing this next month? That’s when I will need you.”

“No, in fact, I am going stir-crazy right now. Lorraine knew that, and it is probably why he brought us together. I think I have been driving him a little crazy lately.”

“So, let’s see what we can do, then. I think you are exactly the person I need for this. I’ve written down some ideas for lyrics—just a bunch of thoughts, really, but they could guide you.” He handed Philippe a small notebook. “The song doesn’t really need to have lyrics--I’ll leave that up to you.”

Philippe took a look at the notebook. “Yes, this could be very helpful. Here let me send you my agent’s information. Your people can get with her and work out the details of a contract based on whether you like what I come up with in the next week.”

They exchanged information and shook hands. On the way home, in the car, Philippe was already working on the project in his mind.

When Lorraine got home that night, Philippe didn’t greet him at the door. Instead, he was in his work room on his keyboard. Lorraine smiled and went to the door of the work room and listened. Philippe looked up, saw Lorraine and smiled. Lorraine thought it was good to see him happy. “That sounds pretty good.”

“No, it’s not right, but it is a start. I’ll get it figured out.” Philippe put down his notebook and got up to go over and kiss Lorraine. “Thank you. You always know what I need.”

They ate some supper then retreated to the couch to drink some wine. After a glass or two of wine, Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Let’s go to the bedroom. I have something special in mind to show you just how much I appreciate you.” True to his word, Philippe made Lorraine feel very appreciated that night.

Over the next week, Lorraine’s plans for the wedding fell into place. Philippe presented his ideas to Sanders who loved them. They drew up a contract and, by the end of the second week, Philippe had the theme song written. He worked with the band to get it recorded and all was complete by the end of the month. Philippe was happy to let Lorraine take control of the wedding. Being busy with this work on the music for the TV show, had made Philippe feel so much more at ease.

It was now the Monday before their Saturday wedding. Philippe and the band had just finished recording the theme song and completed their contract. Lorraine was swamped with the details of the wedding, but happy as a lark. He had made an appointment for Philippe to come in for the final fitting for his wedding suit. Reluctantly, Lorraine let Leo handle the details because he didn’t want to see Philippe in the suit before the wedding. He had sent the clothing for Louis and his mom to Rouen by car with a seamstress, so they could have their final fitting. The band members all came in to House of Lorraine to have their final fittings. Lorraine’s brother and parents would be arriving by airplane Wednesday morning and would have their fittings later that day. Lorraine had made his own mother a red dress that complemented but was not exactly like the dress he made for Philippe’s mother. Everything was going very well.

He scheduled a haircut for Philippe who protested. “It’s just a teeny tiny trim, Philippe. You won’t even notice.”

“If it won’t be noticeable then why do it at all? What if they screw up and take off more than I want?”

“This is the best stylist in the world, Philippe, she won’t make a mistake. I’m getting mine trimmed, too. Even your band mates are going for trims.”

Philippe finally agreed to go. He was pleased with the results and had not realized how uneven his hair had gotten.

Fabien was throwing them a bachelor party Wednesday night. Lorraine didn’t want anyone to be hung over on the day of the wedding and had insisted it be earlier. Lorraine had scheduled himself to work half days up until Thursday when he would be off until after the honeymoon.

Wednesday morning, he took a limousine to the airport to pick up his parents and brother. He had flown them first class from their small town of Castres in the South. He hadn’t seen them in five years because he was always so busy with work. He felt guilty about it, but he did call them regularly, no matter how busy he was. He and his father were not that close, mainly because his father disapproved of his lifestyle. It wasn’t so much his homosexuality, but the way he had flaunted it by dating that never-ending stream of young men and doing it all so publicly. Lorraine hoped his father would like Philippe—or at least pretend to. That his father might do something to spoil the wedding was his biggest fear.

Soon he was standing at the gate waiting for them to de-plane. He saw his mother first. She was smiling and hurried over to give him a big hug. Lorraine was surprised at how much his brother had matured. He had been a gangly nineteen-year-old the last time they had seen each other. Now, he was a very good-looking twenty-four-year-old. They resembled each other quite a lot—sandy hair, similar jawline and nose. His brother, Jason though, had dark brown eyes. He was also taller than Lorraine, as Lorraine discovered when they hugged. He wore his hair short, neatly trimmed.

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief when his dad stepped forward and gave him a big hug. “You are looking very well, son. I can see a happiness in you that had not been there before.”

“It is all because of Philippe, dad. He has made me so happy.”

“Doesn’t it get confusing with both of you named Philippe?”

“Actually, I don’t go by Philippe. People just call me Lorraine. Philippe calls me his Chevalier—his knight.”

“Well, your mother and I are going to call you Phil.”

“That’s great, dad! I am so glad you are all here. Did you have a good flight?”

His mother answered, “Yes, first class was amazing! Thank you for being so thoughtful!”

“Good. I am going to take you to my house to stay. I’ve got extra rooms for you to stay in. You can meet Philippe, too.”

“He is at home and not at work?” his dad asked skeptically.

“He works from our home. Remember? I told you he is a musician. He just finished an album that will be coming out soon. Also, he just finished writing a theme song for a new television drama.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s that rock star fellow,” answered his dad.

“Now, John, don’t judge your son’s future husband before you’ve even met him,” chided his mother.

“I’m just saying, he is that famous rock star who declared himself the original Philippe duc d’Orleans. Always thought he was a bit daft. He should have more respect for his ancestors.”

Jason asked, “Is it true he is the spitting image of the original duc d’Orleans?”

Lorraine sighed and answered, “Yes.”

His mom said, “I think it is amazing how the two of you look so much like those famous lovers and now you are lovers and about to be married. It’s pretty poetic and romantic if you ask me.”

Lorraine thought to himself, what in the world would his parents say when they met Philippe’s brother, Louis? At least Louis wore his hair short and wasn’t quite as obvious a look-alike. And his parents probably weren’t that familiar with how the original Louis XIV looked—or so he hoped. Maybe they wouldn’t notice. Ah, but his mother would. Nothing ever got by her. There was nothing he could do about it, though.

They went to pick up their luggage, then Lorraine paid a valet to take it to his waiting limousine. Things went so much smoother when you could pay for first class and premium treatment. His mother’s eyes lit up with delight when she saw the limousine. Once inside, he offered them some champagne and even had it stocked with a few of his dad’s favorite beers. He filled them in on the upcoming events. One of his assistants and a seamstress was to bring over their clothes for the final fitting this afternoon. Then he, his brother and dad would attend the bachelor party. Claudine would come over with Fabien and stay with his mother while they went to the bachelor party. Louis had declined to come for the bachelor party saying he had too much work to do, which was fine with Lorraine and Philippe.

Before long they were pulling into Lorraine’s garage. When they entered the house, Lorraine could hear music coming from Philippe’s work room. “Sounds like Philippe is working on some music. I’ll show you to your rooms and you can get settled. When you are ready, we can have some lunch. My cook, Marda, has made us a baked ham. That way we’ll have plenty for sandwiches in the next few days.”

He showed them to their rooms and had his driver bring in their luggage and put it in the rooms. He went in to get Philippe. “Philippe, my family is here. Are you at a stopping point?”

“Yes, I wasn’t doing anything important. Just killing time. How do I look?”

“You look great, love. They are going to love you.” Lorraine kissed Philippe softly.

“It will be strange having other people here. Guess we’ll have to curb our loud sex while they are here.”

“It’s just for a few days and then we’ll be on our honeymoon and we can have all we want and be as loud as we want. Besides, we can still make love. We will just have to keep it quieter than normal.”

“Don’t know if I feel right having sex while they are in the house.”

“We’ll play it however you want, love. But that’s three nights without. Might make the first night of our honeymoon intense, though. Now come on. Let’s go meet them.” Lorraine took Philippe by the hand and led him out into the living room where his brother was waiting. Lorraine introduced the two of them.

Philippe told Jason, “You’ll have to tell me all your brother’s childhood secrets and embarrassing stories.”

Jason answered, “Don’t worry, I’ve got some good ones to tell.”

When his parents came out, Lorraine introduced Philippe to them. His dad was polite, thankfully. But he was studying Philippe intensely. Lorraine guessed he was realizing just how much Philippe looked like the supposed ancestor—but then he _was_ the real duke, reincarnated. His dad just didn’t know.

They ate some lunch and talked for a while. Philippe opened some wine and offered it to them. The only one who wanted it was his brother. His mother and father were not used to drinking except in the evenings. After they ate, Lorraine showed them the garden where the wedding was going to be held. His mother loved it. His dad was skeptical that they could fit everyone in. Lorraine had already had small white lights installed throughout the garden. The lights wrapped around the foliage and trees. With the lights, the garden was already beautiful, but the candles and other flowers would make it breathtaking. The rest of the lighting and flowers would all be installed Saturday morning.

The clothes were brought a little later and the final fittings were done. Lorraine was relieved to be checking things off his list. Things were going very smoothly. Maybe too smoothly? He pushed his worries out of his mind.

After supper, the limousine came to pick the men up for the bachelor party. Another limo had been sent to pick up Philippe’s band mates and his assistant, Leo. Lorraine, Philippe, his brother Jason, father John, and Fabien were all in the limo. There would be ten, total, for the party. Fabien refused to tell them what he had planned. They popped open a bottle of good champagne and all had a glass—except John. Lorraine had told Fabien that his dad would only drink his own brand of beer. Fabien had ensured it was stocked in the limo and would be available for him throughout the evening.

Philippe was reluctant to show any affection for Lorraine in front of his father, but Lorraine had slid over in the limo and was sitting as close to Philippe as he could and had his arm around him. When John didn’t show any reaction, Philippe relaxed a little. A couple of glasses of champagne helped, too. Jason made good on his promise to tell embarrassing stories about Lorraine. He had them all laughing and Lorraine blushing. Finally, they were at their destination, a high class, gentlemen’s club. Jason laughed, “Fabien, didn’t anyone tell you these two guys are not particularly fond of women?”

Lorraine responded with, “Fabien is aware of that. But, Fabien, what gives?”

“We have a private room, with special entertainment,” was Fabien’s reply.

As they entered the club, Fabien spoke to the hostess and she led them to their private room. To the embarrassment of Philippe and Lorraine, the room had enlarged photos of them in their younger years. Most of Philippe’s were of him as a young rock star since there was no photographic evidence of his youth. However, there were photos of Lorraine at all ages including the requisite embarrassing naked baby pictures. They went around the room looking at all the photos and having a good laugh at Lorraine and Philippe’s expense. Lorraine was shocked at how thin and pale Philippe had been in his early rock days. But it was the haunted, almost dead look in Philippe’s eyes in the photos that bothered him the most. He could tell Philippe had been hurting a lot in those days.

Philippe came up behind him and said, “I was pretty depressed back in those days. I really didn’t care if I lived or died. It wasn’t just the drugs. I just felt so hopeless. Seeing those photos makes me realize how lucky I am today.” Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and kissed his neck. “You are my life, love.”

Lorraine turned and kissed Philippe on the lips softly, “And you are mine.”

The music playing in the room was Philippe’s—older stuff mixed with the newer stuff. Jason was listening to the current song playing and asked, “Is that yours, Philippe? It is beautiful.”

“Yes, it is one of my newer ones, inspired by Lorraine.”

Then their servers came in and John blushed. They were not buxom young women, but scantily clad young men. They had on very short red shorts and a tight-fitting white tank top. Fabien went over and whispered to them, pointing out who the guests of honor were. The two servers went over to Philippe and Lorraine. The blonde one reached up and ran his hand along the edge of Philippe’s face, “I am here to serve you. If you need anything, just ask.” He smiled coyly at Philippe and moved his hips suggestively. The dark-haired one did the same to Lorraine. Both Philippe and Lorraine blushed.

Fabien asked, “Do you men want to order your own drinks, or should we get another bottle of champagne?” The band members said, almost in unison, “Our own drinks!”

Fabien asked, “Philippe, Lorraine what do you want?”

“More champagne for us, right Philippe?” Philippe nodded in agreement.

“But first we all need a shot of something to get the night started—what? Tequila? Whiskey?”

The consensus was tequila. Lorraine said, “How about we get a round of Patron Anejo?” Lorraine had told Fabien that he would foot the bill for the party and he planned on drinking the best. The dark-haired server told him, “It’s cheaper if you get a bottle than to pay for individual shots with this many people.”

“Then a bottle it is—with limes and salt. For everybody but that gentleman. He will have his beer.” Lorraine pointed to his father. The two servers left and returned with the tequila and limes. They were accompanied by two buxom young girls who served everyone else. Philippe and Lorraine had their own personal servers in the two young men. The young men knew how to flirt and move their bodies provocatively.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “Since this is a bachelor party, do you mind if I have a little fun with this guy? I don’t mind if you have a little fun, too.”

Lorraine whispered back, “It’s our party, we should enjoy it. I know you love me. It might do us good to let go and do a little flirting.”

The words were barely out of Lorraine’s mouth when he saw Philippe reach out and tuck money into the shorts of his server, his hand lingering on the man’s hip. “A little something extra for your special attention.”

The server responded by reaching out with his free hand and caressing Philippe’s face. “Thank you, Philippe.”

“And what is your name,” Philippe smiled at the young man.

“My name is Kevin. I’d like to do a little lap dance for you if your lover doesn’t mind.”

“He won’t mind,” Philippe answered. Lorraine looked a little annoyed at Philippe’s presumption.

Kevin said, “First we must move your chair out a bit, so I can get around you.” Philippe obliged by standing up and moving his chair out then sitting back in it.

The piped in music changed to a stripper type song. Jason let out a whoop, and the band members joined in shouting words or encouragement and clapping. The band members were totally comfortable with Philippe’s sexuality. As far as they were concerned it didn’t matter if the dancer was male or female, this was a bachelor party and they were going to enjoy it. Lorraine’s father just sat drinking his beer, not sure how to react. Fabien didn’t join in the shouting and encouragement just because that wasn’t his way, but he was glad everyone else was enjoying this.

Kevin began gyrating his hips sensually and moved behind Philippe. He reached around the chair and ran his hands down Philippe’s body suggestively, while whispering in his ear making Philippe smile at whatever he was saying. Kevin then danced around the chair and sat in Philippe’s lap, facing him, his legs straddling Philippe. He put his hands upon Philippe’s shoulders and stood up, still straddling Philippe. Kevin suggestively gyrated his hips while one hand traveled over Philippe’s body. He sat in Philippe’s lap still moving his hips seductively. Kevin ran a hand down Philippe’s smiling face. Philippe’s full attention was on Kevin and his moves, when he realized he was enjoying this lap dance a little too much. He felt himself starting to respond and his pants tightening in the crotch.

“I think that will be enough for now, Kevin,” Philippe reluctantly announced. Kevin stood up and gyrated in Philippe’s face a few times, then stepped back.

Lorraine had been jealously glaring at Kevin and Philippe, when his own server got his attention. “Lorraine, my name is Chad and I can give you a lap dance, too, if you’d like.” Lorraine forced himself to look away from Philippe to Chad and nodded his head yes. “Now, let’s pull your chair out.” Lorraine stood up and Chad pulled his chair out. Lorraine sat down again.

Chad was very good at the provocative hip swivel and went around Lorraine’s chair pressing himself against Lorraine when he could. He, too, went behind Lorraine’s chair and ran his hands over Lorraine’s body and whispered in his ear making Lorraine blush. Then he gyrated back in front of Lorraine and moved forward to straddle Lorraine while facing him. He swiveled his hips seductively while running his hands over his own body, all while looking Lorraine in the eye. Then Kevin took a few steps backward, so he could turn around. He backed closer to Lorraine and reached for Lorraine’s hands which he then placed on his ass. Lorraine couldn’t help but notice how firm Chad’s rear was and blushed at the thoughts going through his mind with everyone watching. Kevin swayed and gyrated his hips, leaned forward and pushed his ass almost in Lorraine’s face. Lorraine no longer was paying any attention to what Philippe and Kevin were doing. His total attention was on Chad and that beautiful young body in front of him. Chad sat in Lorraine’s lap still with his back to Lorraine. Now he was moving his hips back and forth, pressing his ass against Lorraine’s cock. Lorraine felt himself responding, but unlike Philippe, he didn’t ask Chad to stop. Lorraine was totally caught up in the moment. Besides, it was Philippe’s idea to go down this road. It was Chad who ended the dance when he felt Lorraine responding to him. He moved back off the chair and ended his dance with a little flourish, smiling coyly at Lorraine. He moved to help Lorraine up and move his chair back to the table. Lorraine tried to move as naturally as he could but still hide his erection.

When he was back at the table he leaned over and whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Damn, I have an erection. What should I do?”

Philippe whispered back, “It’s not my fault you didn’t think to stop your server in time.”

Lorraine whispered back, “Well, it was your idea to have some fun with these guys!”

Philippe whispered back, “Don’t blame me because you don’t ever know when to stop!”

Lorraine ignored the taunt and whispered, “Philippe, I am going to the bathroom. Come with me and help me.”

“And what do you expect me to do about it?” Philippe whispered.

“You know what I want.” Lorraine was getting desperate. Philippe didn’t answer. Lorraine whispered, “Ok, I’ll go by myself.” He announced to the others at the table, “Excuse me, but I need to visit the men’s room.” He got up carefully and shuffled out the door in search of the bathroom.

Philippe sat in thought for a moment then told the others, “I think I’d better go see if he needs any help.”

After Philippe went out the door, Jack said. “I think I have a good idea of how Philippe is going to help him.”

The others, except John, laughed. Fabien did his best to keep the conversation going so they wouldn’t realize how long those two were gone.

After a decent amount of time, Lorraine and Philippe came back. Lorraine was smiling, and Philippe looked a bit perturbed. No one said a word about the incident, choosing instead to talk about the upcoming weather.

Seeing that Philippe and Lorraine were back, the servers came back in.

Kevin asked, “Would you like me to set up a shot for you, Philippe?” Kevin was already doing it before Philippe could respond. He poured a shot glass of tequila, then took Philippe’s hand and held it up to his own mouth and sucked on the soft spot between his thumb and forefinger. He then poured a little salt onto it. He picked up the lime wedge ready to give it to Philippe. Philippe licked the salt from his hand, downed the tequila shot and Kevin held the lime wedge up to his mouth for him to bite. “Another one?” Philippe nodded yes. This time Kevin took a little longer licking Philippe’s hand before sprinkling on the salt. After Philippe bit the lime, Kevin wiped Philippe’s lips with his finger, smiling flirtatiously.

Chad asked Lorraine, “Would you like me to set up a shot for you, too?” Lorraine’s attention left Philippe and turned to his own server.

“Yes, Chad, please.”

Chad did things a little different. He reached out with his hand and stroked Lorraine’s face, then held his hand in front of Lorraine’s lips for him to suck, which Lorraine did. He then put a little salt on his own hand and poured a shot of tequila. He offered his hand to Lorraine to lick, which Lorraine did, slowly and sensually. Then Lorraine downed the shot and Chad held the lime up for him to bite.

For the next few shots, Philippe and Lorraine attempted to make each other jealous and were doing a good job of it. However, by the third shot both servers said, “Now you try it on your lover. We’ll watch.” Both Lorraine and Philippe were feeling no pain by now and were oblivious to those around them.

Philippe poured two shots, then licked his own lips and put salt on them, then handed the salt to Lorraine who licked his lips and put salt on them. They leaned over and kissed each other, took a shot of tequila, fed a lime to each other then, kissed long and hard with lots of tongue. Everyone clapped including John who was embarrassed but didn’t want it to show. He had never seen, in person, his son kissing another man and just wasn’t sure how to take it. The servers brought in several trays of nachos which Fabien had ordered. The nachos became the center of attention. Except Philippe and Lorraine were feeding each other nachos, then decided to share one with each of them starting at one end then nibbling to the center where they kissed.

Jason quipped, “We may have to leave the room to give them some privacy!”

Lorraine replied slurring his words a little, “I heard that. Philippe and I can retain, I mean, restrain ourselves.”

Philippe leaned over and said, “I wouldn’t count on that.” He grabbed a handful of Lorraine’s hair and pulled him toward him, kissing him long and passionately.  He leaned in toward Lorraine a little too far and lost his balance and fell out of his chair to the floor taking Lorraine with him. He didn’t miss a beat and rolled on top of Lorraine. Lorraine was struggling to get free, but Philippe had him held down and continued kissing him, grinding his body against Lorraine’s. Finally, Philippe had to come up for air and Lorraine took the chance to push back against Philippe whispering angrily, “Philippe, my family is here. Stop!”

Fabien also said, “Philippe, we don’t want to get kicked out of here, do we?”

Philippe relented and rolled off Lorraine just as the two male servers came back in to check on what the noise was. They smiled and went over to help Lorraine and Philippe up. Kevin jibed, “Having a little roll on the floor, were we?”

Lorraine brushed himself off and said, “Philippe forgot his manners for a moment there.”

Fabien spoke up and said, “Why don’t we go somewhere we can play pool or shoot some darts? We need to move around a little.”

They all thought it was a great idea. Fabien settled the bill with the credit card Lorraine had given him and they piled into the limos. Before they left, Lorraine and Philippe put large tips into the shorts of Kevin and Chad and said their goodbyes. Lorraine and Philippe spent the trip to the pub making out while Fabien made a point to talk to Jason and John about the town they lived in to take their mind off what was happening in front of them.

They finally reached the pub and scooted several tables together to seat all of them. Philippe and Lorraine didn’t want beer, so they ordered a bottle of champagne while the rest of them ordered beer. They split up into several groups to play pool or shoot darts. Philippe and Lorraine wanted to play pool, so Fabien and Jason teamed up against them. It was really no match because neither Philippe or Lorraine were very good at pool sober. Drunk they were terrible.

At one point, Philippe told Lorraine if he made the next shot he would kiss him. To everyone’s surprise, Lorraine made the shot. Philippe grabbed Lorraine, twirled him around and began kissing him, they wound up falling onto the pool table knocking the balls every which way. Luckily for them all, it was a slow night. The few other people there were tolerant of the shenanigans when Fabien told them it was their bachelor party and offered everyone a round of free drinks. After Philippe and Lorraine finished their bottle of champagne, both were having trouble standing up and even sitting on the barstools without sliding off them. Fabien decided it was time to end the party. He paid the tab and wished everyone a good night. Then he helped Philippe while Jason helped Lorraine to the limo. Lorraine kept insisting it was too early to go home but was easily led to the limo. On the ride home, their pawing at each other ended in them both leaning on each other half asleep.

At Lorraine’s house, Fabien and Jason got them into their bedroom, pulled off their shoes and laid them in bed on their stomachs. Philippe reached over, and put his arm on Lorraine and muttered, “Lezz have sex,” but that was all he said before passing out.

Jason said, “I guess they had fun. They won’t though when they wake tomorrow.”

Fabien answered, “I hope Lorraine didn’t plan to accomplish anything tomorrow because he’s not getting anything done.”

Jason then said, “Fabien, I am glad my brother has such a good friend in you. When I heard he was getting married I couldn’t believe it. He’s never taken any relationship seriously before.”

“Those two are very much in love and they are good for each other.”

“I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes. I don’t think my dad knows how to take it, though. He’s happy for them, but attitudes are so different from when he grew up. He still has so many prejudices, but he’s trying to understand.”

“Yes, I had a hard time with it at first, but once you get to know and understand these guys it is so much easier. They are just two people in love. Well, Claudine and I need to get home. She has work tomorrow. Thanks for your help getting them home and in bed.”

“Do you think we should try undressing them?”

“No, friendship only goes so far, and this is my limit. You can try if you want, though.”

“No, you are right. They’ll be okay. You were smart though, to lay them on their stomachs in case they get sick. I would not of thought about that.”

“I’ve had experience with drunks, before.”

Fabien and Claudine said their goodnights and left.

Lorraine’s mother asked, “Did they have a good time?”

Jason answered, “A very good time, but they’ll pay for it tomorrow.”


	39. Hangovers and Thin Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Lorraine survive the hangover from their bachelor party. The wedding is fast approaching and Lorraine has a lot to do. Early morning activities don't go unnoticed by Lorraine's family. They pack for the honeymoon and Lorraine has some gifts for Philippe, one in particular that confuses Lorraine's family. Lorraine's mother is learning more and more odd facts that link the modern day Philippe to the historical Philippe.

Lorraine woke up five hours later. He had to piss, badly, and tried to jump out of bed, but his body wasn’t responding well. His head was splitting, and he was dizzy and disoriented. He finally made it out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He was trying to remember what had happened, then remembered bits and pieces of the bachelor party. He decided to go to the kitchen and get a sports drink and got one for Philippe, too. He stumbled back to the bedroom, took off his clothes and got in bed. Philippe stirred beside him, so he nudged him, saying, “Philippe, wake up.” Philippe raised his head and mumbled something.

“Here sit up and drink this. It will help.”

“Need to piss.” Philippe pushed himself up and got off the bed to stumble into the bathroom to relieve himself. “Is the party over already?” He sat back down on the bed and took the drink from Lorraine and drank it. “How’d we get home?”

“I imagine Fabien saw to it.”

Philippe finished off the drink then stood up to take off his clothes then laid back in the bed next to Lorraine. “Want to fuck?”

“God, no. I have such a headache I can barely raise my head.”

“I’ll do all the work.” Philippe raised up then quickly laid back down. “Maybe I won’t. Later, then.”

It was noon before Lorraine and Philippe dragged themselves out of bed. They put on some pants then wandered into the kitchen where Lorraine’s parents and Jason were eating lunch.

“There they are! Finally, back among the living!” Jason exclaimed.

Lorraine mumbled, “The jury is still out on that one.”

Lorraine’s mom offered, “I can fix you some breakfast. Would you like some scrambled eggs and toast?”

“How about just some toast. And coffee.”

“You are in luck, there is still coffee left in the pot. And I can make more if you need it. How about you Philippe, do you want some toast?”

“I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

“Nonsense, I don’t mind. Do you want jam or jelly on it?”

“Just butter, please, thank you.”

Lorraine asked, “Did we have fun last night?”

Jason laughed and said, “Yes, lots! I’ll tell you about it later.”

Lorraine’s mother put two cups of coffee down for them. There was a small pitcher of cream on the table and sugar, but they both wanted it black.

Sipping his coffee Lorraine said, “I’m trying to remember what I have to do today. But my head is too fuzzy to think.”

Jason spoke up, “You left your phone on the counter and there was a call. I answered in case it was something important. It was some guy wanting to know about the cake delivery. I didn’t know what to tell him.”

“Thanks, I’ll call him in a few minutes. I’d better call the florist and make sure the flowers are on schedule. There’s going to be so much to do Saturday during the day.”

‘We’re here to help if you need anything.”

“Thanks. I think I am going to call the company nurse to come over and give us a vitamin B-12 shot.”

Philippe answered, “I don’t want a shot.”

“It will make you feel better. It won’t hurt. Much.”

Lorraine ate his toast then went to make his calls and look at his checklist to see if he had forgotten anything important.

The nurse showed up a little later to give them a B-12 shot. After a little while, they were feeling a little better.

Philippe asked Lorraine, “Do you have anything you want me to do?”

“No, not right now.”

“Then I am going to go lay back down for a while.”

“Didn’t the shot help?”

“Yes, but not enough. If you need anything, then come wake me.”

Lorraine didn’t have the luxury of going back to bed. He had company to entertain and calls to make. The rental furniture delivery was to be made later that afternoon, so they could set up the chairs, tables and arch in the garden. After the delivery, Jason and John helped Lorraine set everything up.

Somehow, Lorraine made it through Thursday. That night when he went to bed, Philippe was already in there asleep. Lorraine gave him a kiss then snuggled in beside him.

The next morning Lorraine awoke and felt Philippe draped across him. He couldn’t believe Philippe was still asleep. It was still early—a little too early to get up and start knocking around the house. He tried to move Philippe to the side because his knee was pressing on his groin area and it was very uncomfortable. When he managed to get Philippe moved to a comfortable position, he realized he had a hard on. They had not had sex in two nights and Lorraine had told Philippe they should abstain the night before the wedding as a matter of principle. According to superstition, they shouldn’t even see each other, but that was more than either of them wanted to commit to and it would have been a real headache for the person who would have to go to a hotel. That, of course, would have to be Philippe since there was too much Lorraine needed to do. Philippe had refused so they had set that tradition aside. If they didn’t have sex now, then they’d have to wait for the honeymoon.

Right now, all Lorraine could think of was how to wake Philippe in a manner that wouldn’t irritate him. Lorraine tried a simple kiss on the cheek. That had no response. He got a mint out of the nightstand and ate it, then kissed Philippe softly on the lips. When that didn’t work, he kissed Philippe again, this time slipping his tongue gently between Philippe’s lips. Philippe responded by opening his eyes. Emboldened, Lorraine kissed Philippe more passionately and moved to get partially on top of him.

After the kiss, Philippe managed to say, “Were you going to wake me or just use my body to satisfy yourself?”

“I knew you’d wake up. Let’s fuck.”

“With your parents not so far away? Are you crazy?”

“No, I’m horny.” Lorraine pressed his cock against Philippe. “We can be quiet.”

“You want me to suck you off?”

“No, I want to fuck.”

“But we are noisy when we do that. And I’m not awake yet.”

“Then you can lay there and do nothing. I’ll do all the work.” Lorraine crawled a little more onto Philippe and pressed his body against his. He felt Philippe responding.

“Damn, now you’ve given me an erection.”

“I can take care of that.” Lorraine started moving down on Philippe.

“You’re not going to be happy until we do this, are you?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s your family, then. You explain it to them if we need to.”

“They’ll never know.”

“They will be too polite to mention it. They’ll know.” Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s lips wrapped around the head of his cock. There was no turning back now. Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s mouth did its work and moved his hips in reaction to Lorraine’s lips. A bit later he moaned louder and raised his hips and half-whispered “Oh godddd” as release washed over him. Lorraine reached for the oil in the nightstand.

“Okay on your knees.”

“I thought you said I could just lay here.”

“No, I said I’d do all the work, but I want you on your hands and knees.”

“It’s too early in the morning for this,” Philippe protested but did as he was told.

“You can go on your elbows, if you want.” Philippe made a comment under his breath about Lorraine being bossy, but Lorraine ignored it. At least now Philippe could lay his head on his hands.

Lorraine prepared himself with the oil then he slapped Philippe’s ass. “No falling asleep on me.”

Philippe jumped and shouted, “Owww!” Lorraine ran his hands over Philippe’s buttocks.

“Have I told you lately, how much I love this fine ass of yours?” Lorraine said as he began rubbing oil on Philippe’s butt cheeks. Philippe just grunted in answer. Philippe’s grunt turned into a moan as Lorraine’s finger penetrated him. Lorraine ensured Philippe was well-lubricated and prepared. They both moaned as Lorraine pushed inside him. Lorraine started slowly as Philippe moaned. When he was sure, Philippe was thoroughly ready, he began faster, deeper thrusts. They were both so ready for this after two nights without. All thought of not making noise fled both their minds as the passion of the moment overtook them. Grunting, groaning, and moaning accompanied the sound of flesh slamming against flesh. Philippe was hard again, so Lorraine reached one hand around Philippe’s hip to stroke him while steadying himself with his other hand on Philippe’s hip.

It didn’t take much more stimulation for Philippe to come again. Philippe cried out, “Oh, God, love!” With both hands free now, Lorraine grabbed Philippe’s hips with both hands for his last intense thrusts, Philippe moaning and grunting with each one. Lorraine finally felt the nerves firing and found release as he, too moaned loudly.  Philippe felt the final pulsing of Lorraine inside him and felt Lorraine push him forward onto the bed. Lorraine collapsed on top of Phillipe breathing heavily, heart pounding.

Philippe managed to say, “You know, I don’t think we were that quiet. But it’s your family.” Philippe thought that at least the main bedroom was separated from the others and didn’t share any walls. If everybody was still sleeping, there was a good chance no one heard anything.

They drifted asleep again. A few hours later, Philippe woke up and tried to unentangle himself from Lorraine. His legs were falling asleep from the weight of Lorraine on them. In the process of getting comfortable he woke Lorraine. Lorraine roused himself and mumbled, “What time is it?”

“I don’t know I can’t see the clock, but I hear people in the kitchen.”

That brought Lorraine to complete wakefulness. He raised up and looked at the clock then rolled off Philippe. “I meant to be up before my parents.”

“I think they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. I smell coffee.”

“There is so much I need to do today.”

“Well, then, you’d better get up!”

“Are you going to spend another day in bed?”

“No, I had not planned on it. I thought I’d see if there was anything I could do to help you.”

“Thanks, I may need some help. Let’s get dressed and get some breakfast.”

“I smell bacon, now. Damn, I’m starving.”

“I bet my mom’s making pancakes.”

“That sounds good!” They both dragged themselves out of bed and took a quick shower, then dressed and joined the others in the kitchen.

Lorraine was right. His mother was making pancakes—his favorite breakfast as a child.

Jason was sipping coffee and said, “I told you the smell of bacon would wake them. Good morning sleepy heads!”

Lorraine’s mother said, “I hope you are hungry for pancakes. It used to be your favorite breakfast.”

Lorraine hugged his mom, “Still is. You are a very thoughtful and kind mother. Did everyone sleep well?”

His father averted his eyes and mumbled, “Yes.”

Jason grinned and said, “Yes. How about you two? Get a lot of _sleeping_ done?”

Lorraine turned beet red as he realized from their reactions that maybe he and Philippe had not been as quiet as he had hoped.

His mother’s cheerful voice broke into the ensuing silence. “Just how hungry are you two boys? The pancakes are small—do you want three or four and some bacon?”

Philippe answered, “I’ll take two pancakes and three strips of bacon, please.”

Lorraine mumbled, “Three pancakes and two bacon, thanks, mom.”

Philippe couldn’t help but sneak a knowing look at Lorraine and whisper, “Told you.”

Lorraine and Philippe fixed themselves a cup of coffee.

Jason spoke up, “What is on the agenda today?”

Lorraine answered, “All the clothes should be finished and delivered today, and I want everyone to try theirs on and let me have a look at them to ensure they fit the way I want—except you, Philippe, of course. Tomorrow is going to be the huge rush.”

Jason answered, “I would imagine since it seems not a whole will be done ahead of time.”

Lorraine went over the list, “Tomorrow morning the cake will be delivered as well as all the flowers and candles. The florist is supposed to send a team in the morning to set up all the flowers, lights and candles but, of course, I will want to supervise. The caterer is going to set up the bar and hors d’oeuvres table inside in the afternoon. In the first hour, the inside will be open to the outside for people to arrive and help themselves to drinks and appetizers. I can open all the sliding doors to open that area up to the outside. They’ll put out the first of the hors d’oeuvres fifteen minutes before people are to start arriving.  It’s the tables and items for the dinner I am worried about. Since we are having the ceremony outside as well as the dinner, the dinner cannot be set up until after the ceremony.”

Jason asked, “How are you going to handle that?”

“My idea was after the ceremony, everyone comes inside while they set up outside. That is when Fabien will introduce us as a couple and make his toast. The bar and hors d’oeuvre tables will still be set up for people. Then we’ll do the first dance and have dancing for an hour. That will allow them to set up the tables outside. Then we’ll move outside, the caterers will bring in the salad course and serve that to us. While we eat that, they’ll bring the rest of the food into the kitchen and should be ready to serve us by the time we’ve finished the salad course. The dessert will be set up inside along with the cake while we are eating. Then we come inside to cut the cake and get whatever other desserts we want and take them out to our tables.”

Philippe said, “That’s a lot of moving parts. If one fails, then…well, you know.”

“Yes, everything falls apart.”  Lorraine answered. “These caterers are the best I could find, and they have an excellent reputation. I did a lot of research and vetting before I decided on them. They have handled complex events for me before and have done an excellent job. I have to put my faith in them.”

“it’s a good thing you had people choose their main entrees with the RSVPs. They will at least be able to have that ready.”

“But then that creates a problem when they are serving that they get the right food to the right people. That’s where my seating arrangement and placard placement need to be spot on. If the people setting that up don’t do it right, it could be bad. That reminds me, the printer delivered the placards the other day, but they need to be folded. We could do that today.”

John spoke up, “Why didn’t you have a buffet. That seems like a simple thing to do.”

Lorraine tried hard to keep from making a face and showing his utter contempt for wedding buffets. He knew his dad meant well. “With what I wanted to serve, it just would not have worked out well.”

“Always did say you had expensive tastes. The last wedding I went to they had a barbecue with potato salad and beans and the fixings. Seemed simple to me and the food was delicious.”

“Can’t have a barbecue because of the plants and trees outside. There’s nowhere to set up the grill.” Lorraine tried hard to keep from rolling his eyes at his dad.

Philippe could tell Lorraine was working himself into a panic. He went over to him and put his arms around him, “Love, it will all go as planned and, if it doesn’t, then we’ll improvise. All your friends and family will be there and all they want is for us to get married and have a good time.” Philippe nuzzled his neck and kissed his cheek.

Lorraine sighed, “Yes, you are right. I have planned this out down to the last napkin and if something goes wrong, I’ll just have to go with it. It won’t be the end of the world. One thing I want you and I to do today is to pack. But before we can do that my surprise has to arrive. It is due here at ten this morning.”

“Surprise? What now?” Philippe asked.

“You’ll see at ten.”

Lorraine’s mom piped in with, “Here’s the first stack of pancakes and bacon. Dig in!”

Jason had set the table for his mom before Lorraine and Philippe had gotten up, so they all found a seat and sat around the table. “Mom, you sit, too. If we want more after we finish this, then we can fix it. But I think you have made enough for an entire army.”

Philippe said, “I am hungry, and this looks really good.”

Jason couldn’t help but quip, “Early morning activities do tend to make one hungry.”

Lorraine’s eyes shot daggers at his brother. Younger brothers could be so annoying. There was plenty of pancakes and bacon for everyone, so Lorraine’s mom didn’t have to do any more cooking. When they were done, Jason, Lorraine and Philippe cleared the table and cleaned up. Lorraine got out the boxes with the placards and everyone started folding. It didn’t take any time at all to get them all folded.

Then the door buzzer rang. It was the delivery person from House of Lorraine with Lorraine’s surprise for Philippe: a pile of large flat, boxes. Lorraine was excited for Philippe to open the first one. Philippe opened it to reveal a pair of cotton pants and a cotton shirt. “What’s this for?” Philippe asked.

“It’s clothes for our honeymoon. It will be too hot for jeans, so I designed some cool cotton pants and loose, comfortable cotton shirts for both of us.

“Why can’t I wear my jeans? I’m more comfortable in jeans.”

“Go try on those pants and that shirt. I bet you will think they are very comfortable.”

Philippe grumbled, “I just got dressed not long ago,” but he did as he was told. When he came out, Lorraine loved what he saw. The shirt had three-quarter length loose sleeves and a v-neck that showed off Philippe’s chest. It was in a beautiful light blue that accented his eyes. The drawstring pants were loose-fitting and would be very comfortable. “Why is it all so loose? It feels weird.”

“So the air can move around. Your tight jeans would trap the hot air and make you sweat.”

Lorraine’s mom said, “Oh, Philippe, you look so handsome in that color!”

Philippe blushed. “Thank you, Mrs. Lorraine.”

“Oh, call me Berta. And I do think my son is right. Jeans will be so much hotter than those pants.”

“Love, could I at least bring two pair of jeans? Or even just one?”

“Yes, but I bet when we get there you’ll decide the jeans are too hot. Now open those other three boxes. These are mine.”

Philippe did as he was told. The boxes held more casual, loose fitting vacation clothes. One set had gold threads woven into the fabric that added a nice sheen. There was also a loose-fitting boxy light jacket in white that would go with any of the other clothes. “What’s the jacket for?”

“For the nights when it might get just a little nippy. A light cover-up that is just a bit dressy, too.”

The one thing Philippe did get excited about was a long, exquisitely embroidered lounging robe. The material was a deep ocean blue while the embroidery was silver. “Oh, this is magnificent! I can just imagine how good it will feel while we are lounging about on our balcony and in our rooms. Thank you! I love it all, really. I just have to get used to the idea of not wearing jeans. But this robe is wonderful!”

Philippe rushed over to Lorraine and grabbed him to give him a huge hug and a kiss. “We will be the best dressed people on Santorini—dressed by the House of Lorraine’s Philippe Lorraine, himself!”

“I also got you some sandals and boat shoes.”

“Boat shoes? What are those?”

“They are like sneakers but nicer. And there is one more item.” Lorraine pulled a box from the ones he had kept for himself. “I didn’t want you to see this until the last. Here, open it.” Lorraine handed Philippe the box.

Philippe eagerly snatched the top of the box off and his eyes grew wide with wonder at what was inside. “Oh, so beautiful!” He gently pulled the item out of the box and held it up against him. It was a chiffon women’s evening dress. It had a sculpted neck lace top in a v-shape that just covered the shoulders. The sleeves were of a see-through lace shaped to the arms. From the high, almost empire waist, folds of chiffon draped to the floor in an a-line shape. The color was an exquisite purple.

Lorraine was so intent on Philippe’s delighted face that he didn’t notice the confused look on his family’s face. He didn’t realize they had no idea that Philippe loved to dress in women’s clothing on occasion. “I got that for a night or two on the town for us. You will dazzle them all!” Then he noticed the confused looks on his family’s faces. “Oh, I guess you are all wondering what this is?”

Jason was the only one who could find his tongue to speak, “Yes. The dress is lovely but…he’s a guy.”

Lorraine sighed. “It’s one of his little quirks that I love. He loves to wear women’s clothes occasionally. And he looks very good in them. That’s my Philippe. I love to indulge him.”

It was his mom who spoke up, “You know, I remember. The duc d’Orleans liked to dress in women’s clothes, too. There are a lot of men who like to cross-dress like that. I think Philippe will look wonderful.”

Lorraine really loved his mom at that moment. She always saw the best in everything and not much shocked her.

Jason said, “We’ve all got our quirks. I could think of lots worse ones. I can see how Philippe would look good in that dress. That purple looks good with his dark hair and light complexion.”

His dad just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yes, I guess I can see it.”

Philippe carefully folded the dress and put it back in the box. He set the box down then walked over to Lorraine. He took his face in his hands and kissed him, a lip chewing, tongue flavored kiss. He didn’t care that Lorraine’s family was there watching. The love he felt for his Chevalier at that moment had to be expressed. “You are making me so happy, my heart could burst.” Then he kissed him again and whispered in his ear, “I want so bad to take you into the bedroom right now but know I can’t. Thank you, love.”

Then Philippe turned to Lorraine’s family and said, “Thank you for raising such a considerate, wonderful, loving man. I love him so dearly. I’m sorry if there are things about me that make you feel uncomfortable, but it is the way I am, and he loves me for it, and that means the world to me.”

Lorraine’s mom answered, “We are glad that he has found someone like you to love him. We’ve been so worried about him for such a long time, but now we know he is going to be very happy with you.”

Lorraine decided there was enough mush going on and broke in with, ”Well, we’d better get these boxes in the room and start our packing. Mom, you want to help us? You are so good at packing and it’s going to be difficult to fit in everything we want. Dad, there’s a paper over there if you want to read it. Jason you can come help if you want.”

It turned out, Lorraine was right. They had a lot more clothes than they had room in the luggage. Because they were flying on the company jet they didn’t have to worry about airline bag limits, but there still were limits that could be fit into the jet. The pilot had told them a maximum of 240 pounds each or four sixty-pound bags. They would be gone eight days and Lorraine had laid out eight outfits plus alternatives for when it might rain or turn cool. Add in robes, sleepwear, shoes, sandals, hats, umbrellas, personal items and they quickly ran out of room. Lorraine checked their room reservation and it did include laundry service, so he cut their daily outfits in half with one set of warmer clothes and whittled down the other stuff. He called the travel agent who told him they could buy things like toothpaste, lotions and the like in Greece and a lot of it was furnished by the hotel. They reduced the number of items to where it all finally fit, then he unpacked and went through the items and compared them to the list he had made to be sure they weren’t missing any essential items.

However, when he told Philippe to unpack his stuff, Philippe was reluctant to unpack the last one. “Philippe what do you have in there you don’t want me to see?”

“It’s my surprise for you. My gift for you. You can’t open it until we get there.”

“Well, how much space does it take up?”

Philippe pulled the clothes off it and showed Lorraine. It was a box that just fit into the bottom of the suitcase and was about two-and-a-half-inches deep. Lorraine looked at it puzzled. He had no idea what could be in it. “Is it something I’m going to use in Greece?”

“Yes, we both will enjoy the contents in that box a lot. I’ll even leave my jeans here to make room.”

“Is it heavy?”

“No, you can pick it up, but don’t shake it.”

Lorraine picked the box up, it wasn’t too heavy at all. Now he was dying to see what it was inside. “Are you sure I can’t open it now? I let you open your dress.”

“Look, you have done all these wonderful things for me and this is the **_one_** thing I could think of to do for you and I don’t want you to see it until we get there. Please.”

“Since you put it that way, okay. But you know it’s going to drive me crazy until I get to see it.”

Philippe smiled, “Yes. I know.”

Lorraine sighed and continued with the packing. Finally, they had everything stuffed into four suitcases that weighed sixty or less pounds on their home scale. It took a lot longer to pack than Lorraine had expected. He was taking his wedding party and his family out to a nice dinner that night and they had to scramble to be ready in time to make the reserved time. Philippe had wanted to wear his dress, but Lorraine wouldn’t let him—not unless he let him open the box. Philippe wouldn’t budge on the box, so he had to save his dress for Greece.

They had a very nice dinner and Lorraine made sure no one drank too much. There would be no hang-overs for the wedding party. They got home a little later than Lorraine had wanted. He insisted that he and Philippe go to bed, so they could get plenty of sleep for the next day. Previously, Philippe had agreed with him that they wouldn’t have sex the night before the wedding. They got in bed and kissed each other good night and snuggled up to sleep. But Lorraine couldn’t sleep. His mind wouldn’t stop going over all the details. He tried to lay still so at least Philippe could go to sleep with the idea of getting up once Philippe slept to go check his lists one more time. He was thinking it had been long enough when he heard a whisper in his ear, “Love, are you awake?”

He answered, “Yes.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Neither can I. Too many things going on in my head.”

He felt Philippe press himself closer to him. “Want to fool around?”

“What about the promise we made?”

Philippe wrapped his leg over Lorraine’s and Lorraine felt his hard cock pressing against his ass. “What difference would it make? I mean we’ve hardly gone a night without sex since we first met. I could get the oil and fuck you right now. It wouldn’t take long. Then you might be able to sleep. It would release all that adrenaline that has built up in you today with all your worrying.”

Lorraine sighed. Philippe made some good points. One night of abstinence was not going to make their marriage any happier. “Okay. But let’s really be quieter tonight. I don’t want to have to face my dad another time.  I know it is hard for him.”

Lorraine barely got the words out of his mouth before Philippe was digging in the bedside chest for the oil. They really tried being quieter, but it was difficult holding back when the feelings were so intense. It was their last time having sex as individuals—the next time they had sex would be as a legally married couple—a right that had long been withheld from them. Lorraine thought how grateful he was that, after tomorrow, he could claim Philippe as his as Philippe could claim, him, Lorraine. They were sbound together by a love that had spanned centuries and soon would be forever sanctioned in a legal document. Satisfied, they both drifted off to sleep.


	40. The Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is Philippe and Lorraine's wedding day!

Lorraine was awake early. Philippe was still sleeping, so Lorraine carefully got out of bed. He grabbed some clothes and put them on in the bathroom. He slipped quietly past the sleeping Philippe and went to the kitchen. He fixed a pot of coffee as quietly as he could, then he sat and drank a cup as he went over his list for the day. As he started going over the list, reality hit him.

_He and Philippe were getting married. Today!_

They had gone through all the steps required for the "withdrawal" of the marriage record through their borough. This included obtaining official copies of their current birth certificates, filling out information sheets (general information like their profession, place of employment, residential address, name of parents, siblings, etc.) for each of them, and providing proof of residence, identity cards, and photocopies of the identity cards for their two witnesses, Fabien and Claudine, and an official certificate of Philippe’s previous marriage and divorce. On that last item, Philippe had panicked because he had not saved any of the paperwork for it and was fuzzy on the actual dates and even the full name of the woman he had married, then divorced. His agent, Lily, however, came to the rescue. The record company had kept all these records for Philippe, much to his relief. When they finally had all the paperwork accumulated, they had to make an appointment at their local borough to officially “deposit” the marriage records. Then came the wait while the submitted marriage record went through the approval process. While waiting for the approval, they had published the banns—public notice of their intent to marry done to ensure neither had a previous spouse they had not revealed and, if they did, to allow that spouse notice so they could come forward.

They had gotten their approval and made the appointment for the civil ceremony to take place at their local borough at eleven in the morning with their two witnesses, Fabien and Claudine, in attendance. The civil ceremony would consist of each of them verbally consenting to the marriage to the borough official in the presence of their two witnesses who were there to confirm their identity. The actual wedding celebration with friends and family would take place that evening. They had agreed to each keep their own name and not to set up a pre-nuptial agreement. Money and properties acquired before the wedding would belong to the one who had acquired them, whereas any property acquired after the wedding would be shared equally between the two of them.

Lorraine had taken steps to add Philippe as owner of the home they lived in. They both had gone through their lawyers to set up disposition of all previously acquired items in the event of the death of one of them. The House of Lorraine would remain under Lorraine’s control unless he died, then Lorraine had drawn up a contingency plan passing his share of the business to Philippe who had the option of accepting it or selling his interest to Leo at the “current fair market value.” Conversely, royalties from the music Philippe had done before the marriage would stay under Philippe’s control, but would convert to Lorraine in the case of Philippe’s death. Of course, the money each of them earned after the marriage was now considered common property.

Discussing these matters had been disturbing and difficult for them because the idea of one of them dying was just too painful to even consider. So much of it was boring, dry legalities that numbed the mind. But they knew it was something they had to deal with. Once the decisions were finalized, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Now they could be pushed aside and forgotten in their day to day lives.

As  Lorraine thought of the upcoming ceremonies, a part of him couldn’t see where the marriage would really make much difference in their daily lives. In his heart he knew he was committed to Philippe and Philippe was committed to him. No ceremony or piece of paper would change that or make it more real. Mostly, tonight’s wedding ceremony was a declaration of that love in the presence of their family and friends. And the ceremony at noon would bind him and Philippe together legally. That was the real treasure. He had lived his previous life under a cloud of uncertainty. At any point in time, Louis, as king, could have banished or exiled him—and had done so on several occasions. Lorraine had also been at the mercy of Philippe who, at times, was torn between the love for his chevalier, and his duty to the King and France. The very love that he and Philippe shared had been illegal, punishable by death. The only thing that protected them was the fact that Philippe was the king’s brother. He had lived in a state of constant fear. In this life, he was free to be himself, to love who and how he wanted. And now he was free to marry Philippe, to make that love and commitment permanent and legal.

He took a deep breath. This was the quiet before the storm. At eight, the cake was to be delivered, followed shortly after by the arrival of the florist and his crew. He knew he should eat something, so he’d have energy. He poured himself a bowl of cereal and threw some slivered almonds in. He poured milk over the cereal and forced himself to eat it. He wasn’t very hungry—his stomach was in knots—but he had to eat something. He looked up and saw Jason walking in.

“Hi, bro. Surprised to see you up so early.”

“Going over those lists?”

“Yes. Things are going to get busy soon.”

“How does it feel knowing you will no longer be single in a few hours?”

“Actually, no different. When I met Philippe, I knew that single life was behind me. When you have been with as many different guys as I have been with, your soul gets tired. I used them, they used me. It was all a power game. They gave me sex in return for status. Being with me helped them climb the fame ladder. It was only a matter of time before they were ready to move on. For me, it was a game to see just how long I could dominate them and how much sex I could squeeze out of them before I dumped them. Usually, I dumped them first, but sometimes they surprised me and dumped me first.”

“Yes, mom, dad and I would pick up the papers or see one of those gossip shows and see you with another young, beautiful guy. Mom always said your eyes looked so sad. It’s funny but when she heard you were seeing Philippe d’Orleans she got excited and predicted your relationship would be good. She based that on the fact that our ancestor and his were famous lovers.”

Lorraine sat there and fought with the urge to tell his brother the truth. He used to share everything with his brother, but they hadn’t been close for a while. Finally, he decided to give it a try. When his family met Louis, they might see the resemblance to Louis XIV and start wondering. “Jason, there is something I want to tell you, but you may find it hard to believe or understand.”

Jason looked puzzled. “You can tell me anything.”

“Okay, here goes. After I started seeing Philippe, I started having dreams.”

“Dreams about him?”

“Yes and no. All the dreams were based in mid-1600 France at the Versailles Palace.”

“Versailles? Isn’t that the palace Louis XIV built?”

“Yes. The first dreams weren’t good. Bad things happened to me like I was thrown in prison because I had led a rebellion against the king. I had been forced to participate, but if I had gone to Philippe with the information, things might have been different—or the rebels might have killed me for not following their orders.”

“But weren’t those things that actually happened to the Chevalier, our ancestor? Had you been reading history books that prompted the dreams?”

“No, I had not. The dreams continued and eventually in the dreams I saw how much I had loved Philippe. And waking, I realized the Philippe in the modern world was the same Philippe in my Versailles dreams.”

“You are not making much sense, bro.”

“I told Philippe what I was feeling, and he told me he knew. He, too, had dreams of Versailles. We believe that somehow, we are the real Philippe and Lorraine and that we have been reincarnated. You know our best man, Fabien, and his wife, Claudine? They have been reincarnated, too. Fabien was head of Louis’s security force. Claudine was a doctor to the King. They were in love until she was murdered.”

“Oookaay. This is a little crazy.”

“There’s one more insane thing. Philippe’s brother is the mayor of Rouen—and he is the reincarnated Louis XIV. He’s just recently started having the Versailles dreams, too, and realizing who he once was. You will see when he shows up later how much he looks like the king. Philippe and Louis didn’t grow up together because Louis’s mom left her abusive, alcoholic husband when Louis was two. She was pregnant with Philippe at the time and decided to give him up for adoption because she was barely making ends meet with Louis and a baby would make it impossible for them all to survive. For some reason, Philippe wasn’t adopted and wound up in the foster system and had a hard childhood. Recently, Louis’s mom got sick and decided she needed to tell Louis about his brother. She asked him to find Philippe, so Louis hired a detective to find Philippe, which wasn’t difficult. They really aren’t that close because Philippe has a lot of anger from the hardships of his childhood and the fact his own mother gave him up and waited twenty-eight years before saying anything.”

“Wow, that’s the craziest thing I have ever heard, but the fact that you are telling me and believing it, well, I just don’t know what to think.”

“Get on your phone and look up the historical Philippe duc d’Orleans, Chevalier Philippe d’Lorraine and Louis XIV. You’ll find painted portraits of them—us—and I swear you will see we are the same.”

“But how were you reincarnated—and why?”

“I have no idea. Maybe it is some form of mass hysteria with us. The past doesn’t really matter. What counts is what we do today. Except I feel the love I have for Philippe has transcended time.”

“You know, if you told mom this story, she would probably believe you. All I know is that you seem to believe this, and I respect that.”

“Thanks, that means a lot to me. Oh, I think I hear mom and dad getting up. I wonder what they want for breakfast.”

“Don’t worry, mom will fix it whatever it is. It gives her something to do and makes her feel useful.”

“I have really enjoyed having you guys visit. We need to get together more often after Philippe and I get back from our honeymoon.”

At that time the door buzzer went off. The cake had arrived a little early. The guys came in to ask where Lorraine wanted the cake. He directed them to put it on a counter that was out of the way of the hustle and bustle. As he had requested, they had a cover for the cake so that Philippe couldn’t see it. Lorraine looked at the topper. It was him and Philippe. Philippe was in his war uniform with the blue sash. He was in the red outfit he had designed for himself after being exiled in Rome. The figurines were done very well. The baker had said they would be made of modeling paste, modeling chocolate and spun sugar. He could tell their hair was spun sugar and the sash on Philippe and their shoes/boots were all spun sugar. It was exquisite work. The cover was one of those nylon pop up things that was big enough to cover the cake without touching it. The workers had taped the bottom to the counter, so it wouldn’t move. The trick would be moving the cake to the dessert table later, but the caterer had promised they had experience moving cakes.

The cake was three white tiers. It was decorated with hand-worked modeling paste flowers:  black magic roses, burgundy-black mini callas, white astrantia, blackberry scabiosa, and white peonies. The work was exquisite. There was a separate single-layer of the vanilla bean-chocolate that was equally beautifully decorated. Lorraine was very happy with the results.

The door buzzer rang again. The florist was here with his crew. His parents had made their way to the kitchen and were eating a breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs. His mom offered to fix a plate for him, but he explained he’d already eaten and had to oversee the floral crew. The florist had the black magic rose boutonnieres in individual boxes and suggested they be kept in the refrigerator until  an hour or so before the ceremony, so they would be fresh. There was a corsage for both mothers, too, that also went into the fridge.

Lorraine watched as the garden transformed. It was already set up with the wedding arch and the chairs. The florist lined the center aisle that he and Philippe would walk down with candles in glass lanterns and peonies. The guests would enter their seats from the outer edge, not the center, but the rows were only five-seats wide and three rows deep on each side of the aisle. They left some extra chairs in his closet in case they were needed.

As Lorraine was directing things, Philippe came up behind him and put his arms around him. He whispered in his ear, “Morning, love. Today’s the day. It looks beautiful.”

More glass lanterns were used as vases and filled with the flowers and placed around the garden. When the tables were moved in, the arrangements would be the centerpieces. It was all looking amazing.

Then the door buzzer went off. Lorraine was confused. He wasn’t expecting anyone right now. It was Fabien and Claudine. They were a little early for their trip to the local borough office for the civil ceremony.

“After we do the civil ceremony, Claudine and I are taking Philippe home with us.” Fabien announced.

Both Lorraine and Philippe looked surprised.

“Claudine and I should have thought about it yesterday, but we didn’t. You two should not have spent the night together last night. And you really shouldn’t see each other before the ceremony. So, Philippe will be coming with us after you do the civil thing. We’ll need his wedding clothes, so he can get dressed before we come back at six-thirty. You don’t need him for anything this afternoon, do you, Lorraine?”

“Well, no.”

Claudine tried to explain, “We’re just trying to conform to tradition. We’ll keep Philippe busy at our flat and ensure you don’t see each other before the ceremony.”

Philippe protested, “But I want to stay here.”

Lorraine told him, “Claudine and Fabien are trying to help us have a wonderful wedding. They are right. We should not see each other after the civil ceremony until the wedding. I’d go with them, but I have too much to do here. So, it falls to you, Philippe, to go with them.”

“What are we going to do?” Philippe asked Fabien.

Fabien answered, “We can play cards. You can try and win your money back from me. We also have a dart board. We’ll keep busy. Or you can stay here and stand around watching Lorraine run himself ragged.”

“Since you put it that way, where are my wedding clothes?”

Lorraine went to their room for Philippe’s wedding clothes and handed them to Fabien and Claudine to take down to their car. Lorraine gave final directions on what was to be done with the rest of the flowers. Then he asked his mother to take care of things while he and Philippe went to the borough office for the civil ceremony. They had an appointment and the ceremony was very short, so it shouldn’t take them long. He told her Louis and Philippe’s mom might arrive before he got back and to make introductions if they did come before he got back.

Fabien and Claudine had to almost drag Lorraine away because he kept thinking of something else, he needed to do before they left. Fabien reminded Lorraine that if they weren’t on time, they would lose their place and then they would have a wedding that wasn’t legally binding or they’d have to postpone until another appointment could be made.

Philippe took Lorraine’s hand in his and kissed it. “Come on, love, relax! I don’t like to see you so stressed out.”

Once in the car, Philippe told him, “Now breathe slowly. Close your eyes and let all the tension flow out of you.” 

Lorraine closed his eyes and tried to let all the nerves and stress flow out of him but was surprised by Philippe’s soft lips on his. The kiss was gentle and loving—its purpose to calm Lorraine. Philippe ran the back of his hand down the side of Lorraine’s face. “That’s much better.” Philippe put his arm around Lorraine. Luckily the local borough wasn’t too far from their house. They arrived on time and were quickly led into the office. The official checked their identification and their marriage papers. He asked Lorraine and Philippe each, by name, if they entered into this union freely without any misgivings, doubts or outside pressures to do so. They both answered affirmatively. The official asked Fabien and Claudine to vouch under penalty that this was indeed Philippe d’Orleans and Philippe d’Lorraine standing before him. They both swore that it was. The official applied an embossing seal to the paperwork, handed certain pages for the four of them to sign. He declared the union to be legal and handed them one set of the papers and shook each of their hands. “May your union be happy and long.”

Philippe took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him, Lorraine returning the kiss with fervor. After the kiss, they looked at each other and smiled, then left the office hand in hand. Philippe said as they walked out to the car, “Now, love, go get things ready for our wedding celebration tonight!” Fabien and Claudine dropped Lorraine off at his home and took Philippe home with them.

Inside the house, Lorraine told his family that all the legal paperwork was completed and showed them the marriage certificate with the signatures and seal. The only other signature they needed was that of the person authorized to perform the ceremony tonight, Sunset Jones, their spiritual guide. Lorraine sighed. He hated that Philippe wasn’t here but knew that it would be easier to get things done with Philippe out of the way. Lorraine realized the next time he would see Philippe would be moments before they walked up that aisle. He so looked forward to seeing Philippe in his wedding suit. He sighed, then got back to work.

At noon, the door buzzed again. Louis and his family were here. His mother was in a wheelchair but looked happy in her red dress. Introductions were made. Then Louis asked where Philippe was. Lorraine had to explain he had gone with Fabien, so they wouldn’t see each other before the wedding.

Lorraine’s mom, Berta, invited them to a lunch of ham sandwiches and potato salad. Lorraine noticed that Jason was sneaking looks at Louis. He wondered if his brother was now more inclined to believe his story. There was general chit-chat as the two families got to know each other. Lorraine was surprised at how sociable Louis was. Philippe had not painted a very friendly picture of his brother, but the Louis Lorraine was seeing was a very friendly, smiling, likable Louis. Lorraine thought that was good. His family seemed to be enjoying themselves. He hoped everybody would stay nice and friendly.

Lorraine went out to inspect the garden again. He tried to envision the guests arriving. There was a sign on the back row of each side designating which side was for the guests of Lorraine and which side for Philippe although the sign said at the bottom, “Since after this day you will all be friends and family of both of us, feel free to sit wherever you feel the most comfortable.”

The first row would be for the immediate family and the next for the family members of the wedding party. There were thirty chairs for the thirty guests, but a good number of the guests were in the wedding party, so there would be plenty of seats. Lorraine then worried if it might not look good if there were too many empty seats. He counted on his hands the number of people in the wedding party—eight. He couldn’t take away a row of seats without leaving two people without a seat and he didn’t want to force two people to sit alone. He decided to leave the seats as they were.

He and Philippe had decided not to have a wedding rehearsal since theirs seemed like it would be so straightforward. But now he was wishing they had done one anyway. He had asked the groomsmen to come a little early, so he could bring them out and do a quick run-through. Louis was already here, so that was good. He had not realized Louis had a daughter and he wondered if he should try and include her. He could get a bowl and fill it up with rose petals. She could walk up the aisle before them and throw petals then join her mom in the front row.

Lorraine went to Louis and explained what he was thinking. “Do you think she would be interested?” The girl was wearing a red dress so that would fit right in.

Louis said, “I think she would be delighted!”

“Good, then let’s go tell her.”

Lisabeth was very excited and listened intently as Lorraine told her what she would do. He took her out to the garden and took her down the aisle. “Now walk slowly and pretend you are throwing rose petals out of a bowl. If you run out of rose petals, then just continue down the aisle. Your mother will be sitting here, so you can sit beside her, and your job is done. Yes, that’s it! You are going to do wonderful! Thank you for helping!”

When he got back in, he had the printed-out Agenda and the easel he would put it on and was trying to decide where to put it. Berta saw what he was doing and came over to have a look.

“I can’t decide where the best place would be to put this.”

“Why not put it over there by the sliding glass doors to the outside or between the bar and hors d’oeuvres tables.”“Those are both great ideas, but I think between the two tables will be perfect. Everyone will visit those first.” Lorraine set up the easel and put the Agenda on it.

==================================================================================

**%%%%%%%%%%    AGENDA    %%%%%%%%%%**

_Spiritual Advisor:  -  Sunrise Jones_

*** * * * Cocktail Hour 6:00 to 7:00 pm * * * ***

**_Alcohol because no great beginning ever started with a salad_ **

_Champagne used for aperitifs:_   Le Grand Courtage Blanc de Blancs Brut

_**Campari Spritzer:**_   Champagne, Campari, club soda, orange slice

_**Champagne cocktail** :_  Angostura bitters, champagne, strawberry slice, sugar cube

**_Manhattan:_  **Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Boissiere Sweet Vermouth, Angostura bitters

**_Cruzan:_   **White Rum, raw sugar, mint, lime, soda

_**French Martini** :_  Grey Goose Vodka, Chambord, pineapple juice

_**Sparkling French Martini:**_ add champagne, raspberries

\------

**Hors d’oeurves**

Caviar & sour cream on mini blini

Veggie chips with crab-artichoke dip

Honey ricotta dip with toast points & grapes

Fresh figs with Prosciutto di Parma

 

*** * * * Wedding Ceremony 7:00 to 7:45 pm * * * ***

 

*** * * * Introduction of Couple & Champagne Toast to the Couple by Fabien Marchal 7:45 to 7:50 pm * * * ***

Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne

 

*** * * * First Dance followed by one hour of dancing 7:50 to 9:00 pm * * * ***

Philippe d’Orleans dedication to Philippe d’Lorraine

Queen's "Love of My Life"

* * * * * *

Philippe d’Lorraine dedication to Philippe d’Orleans

Kate Gibson singing "Dance Me to the End of Love" Written by Leonard Cohen

  

*** * * * Wedding Dinner 9:00 to 10:00 pm * * * ***

_**Wine:**_ Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Gran Moraine Rosé of Pinot Noir, Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc

\------

Fruit and cheese plates

Caprese salad (tomatoes mozzarella, basil)

\------

Lobster with Lemon Asparagus

Vegetarian Vegetable and Couscous Salad (eggplant, squash, mushroom, tomato, chickpea, baby lettuces, couscous)

Filet Mignon with Steamed Green Beans

 

*** * * * Cake Cutting 10:00 pm * * * ***

Talenti Sicilian Pistachio Gelato

Macaron

Mini fruit tarts (blackberry or peach)

 

*** * * * Couple’s Departure 10:45 pm * * * ***

==================================================================================

 

Berta read through it and asked, “Who is going to perform the ceremony?”

Lorraine looked at her in panic. “Oh my god! I didn’t put that on there! Philippe’s friend, Sunrise Jones, is going to do it and I totally forgot to put it on there.”

“Do you have some paper that will match this? I can write script—it’s a hobby of mine and I can write out something like ‘Sunrise Jones – Performing ceremony’ and tape it to the top. Do you have a felt tip black pen?”

Lorraine hugged his mom, “You are a lifesaver. Yes, I believe I do have a felt tip. The printer left me some blank sheets and a felt tip in case someone unexpected showed up. I could then make them a placard.” Lorraine got the paper and pen. “I think it should read ‘Spiritual Adviser – Sunshine Jones’”

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Lorraine used tape on the back to apply the new information to the top of the Agenda. It matched very well and didn’t look like the last-minute add-on that it was.

Now Lorraine was worried what else had he missed. His mom could see the panic in his face and guessed what he was thinking. “Phil, you are worrying too much. You should be having fun. It is a special day. If some other small detail pops up, you’ll figure out how to handle it. You’ve thought of the big things and those are what count. Now relax.”

Lorraine took a deep breath. His mom was right. He went over to the placards and started sorting them by tables. His mom came over and said, “You know at a friend’s wedding, she put colored dots on the nameplates to designate which entrée each guest had ordered. It made it a lot easier for the servers.”

“Colored dots? I don’t have any.”

“Do you have any colored pens? Maybe colored highlighters in three colors? That’s how many entrées there are, right?”

“Yes, I think I have an unopened pack in my desk.”

“How about I put colored hearts right up here in this corner where the servers can easily see it?”

“Yes, let me get my guest list out. I’ve got their entrée listed by their name.”

Lorraine got out the guest list and put his mom to work.

The door buzzer went off again. This time it was a member of the caterer’s team to check out the area in advance of them coming.

“You didn’t tell us your kitchen is open to the living room.”

“Is that important?”

“It’s easier if the kitchen is in a separate room, but we can put up screens.”

“Why do you need screens?”

“A working kitchen can be a bit cluttered. It’s better to keep the clutter out of sight. We have some very nice tall black screens. We can put them around the bar and all the way to each wall. Then when we come to work, we can move the end ones. Things like this are why I come out early to check things out. Is this okay with you?”

“Yes. Whatever you think is necessary.”

“We’ll be bringing some of our own equipment, too, to fire the filets and poach the lobsters. I’ll be back with the crew in just a bit, to set up the kitchen.”

Jason came up to Lorraine and said, “Bro, you look a little stressed. Maybe we should have a glass of wine or something to relax you.”

“I don’t want to start drinking now. I need a clear head.”

“One glass of wine is not going to hurt. You need something to calm your nerves. You look about ready to panic and that wouldn’t be good.”

Lorraine acquiesced. He asked if anyone else wanted some wine and several people indicated that would be good, including Louis and his wife. Lorraine opened a bottle and poured wine for everyone who wanted it. There was a little over a glass left for him. The wine did help settle his nerves. It was about three in the afternoon when the caterer and his crew showed up. They moved in the black screens and brought boxes of dishes, cutlery, napkins, etc. They also brought some portable table-top grills and poachers. The last thing they brought in were the tables.

“Is there a spare room we can put the tables in to keep them out of your way until needed? They stack well.”

Lorraine showed them to one of the extra bedrooms. He had planned for Philippe to change in there, but that wouldn’t be needed now.

Next the rest of the groomsmen showed up. Lorraine explained what would happen and they went out to the garden, so he could go over it and have them practice it one time. They did well since it wasn’t complicated at all.

The guitar player and his keyboard player came next to set up their equipment. Lorraine had set aside an area of the garden next to the sliding glass doors for them. They had a couple of amps and some portable speakers and just needed somewhere to plug in and a couple of chairs. It didn’t take long to get them set up. They proceeded to tune up and practice a little. Lorraine left them outside and closed the doors.

The next to come was the bar crew. Lorraine showed them where to set up. The catering crew gave them a couple of the red tablecloths for the tables the bar crew had brought. They laid clear plastic over the tablecloths because there would be spills.

Then it was time for Lorraine to get ready. He went to the bedroom where he had hidden his wedding clothes and brought them to the master bedroom. It seemed so quiet and empty without Philippe there. The shower helped to revive him and to also soothe his rattled nerves. He shaved being very careful not to cut himself. He carefully combed his wet hair and blew it out, applying a bit of gel to give it body. He applied a tinted facial cream to moisturize his face. He applied a generous amount of antiperspirant because he knew he was getting very nervous and didn’t want to be sweaty. He brushed his teeth even though he knew he’d be eating. At least he’d start off with a fresh mouth.

He looked at the clock and realized he’d better get the boutonnieres on the groomsmen. He put on a robe and went out to ask his mom to see to that. He showed her where the roses were and explained what he wanted and, also showed her the corsages for her and Philippe’s mom. “Oh, and see if you can pin one of those peonies on Lisabeth’s dress.” He left certain his mom would carry out the job well. Sure enough as he walked to the bedroom, he heard his mom giving directions. He could always count on his mom.

Jason followed him back to the bedroom and asked if it was okay to come in. “Please do, I need someone to talk to.”

“It’s almost here, bro. Nervous?”

Lorraine rolled his eyes and said, “Very.”

“I see what you mean about Philippe’s brother, Louis. I think I am inclined to believe your theory although I have no idea how it could happen.”

“Thanks. But as I said, what happened in the past doesn’t really matter much. We are in today’s world and that is the one we have to worry about.”

Lorraine was now putting on his wedding clothes.

“That’s a pretty nice suit you have there. What does Philippe’s look like?”

“Same as this only it is in a black and red brocade pattern.”

“Nice.”

Lorraine heard the door buzzer. “Can you go out and see who that is?”

Jason left then returned, “It’s the photographer and videographer.”

“Can you go tell my mom to have the photographer get some shots of the groomsmen—if they are ready.”

Jason went out to do Lorraine’s bidding then returned. “Mom’s on the job.”

Then the door buzzer went off again. “Now who can that be? Please go check, Jason.”

Jason returned with, “It’s Fabien. Philippe is downstairs. Where do you want him?”

“I’m all out of spare rooms. Would you mind if he stayed in your room until time?”

“Not at all.”

“Let me know when he’s safely in there so I can come out. I’m just about ready.”

The door buzzer went off. This time it was the caterer with the hors d’oeuvre set up.

Lorraine was finally ready to come out. He took one last look in the full-length mirror. He looked good. He really loved his suit.

When he went out everyone clapped. They all flattered him at how great he looked and said that Philippe also looked fantastic. He checked in with the caterers. The hors d’oeuvres were ready. They had several tall refrigerated rolling racks of hors d’oeuvres in the kitchen. Lorraine took one look into the kitchen and was glad for the screens.

Lorraine told the photographer to take some photos of Fabien, Claudine and him. Then he took a couple of photos with the groomsmen with Fabien and Claudine included. The photographer took photos of both sets of families, then of both families together. The videographer worked quietly in the background recording the activities.

Fabien came up to Lorraine and said, “Philippe wants to know if he can have a glass of wine and a few hors d’oeuvres. He’s getting a little antsy in there.”

“Yes, give him what he wants—just go easy on the wine.”

Louis asked if he could wheel his mother in to see Philippe. Lorraine gave the okay. Then it was six and he was ready for the guests to start arriving. He opened the sliding doors and told the guitarist he could play the medley of love songs they had agreed on. Lorraine listened and was pleased. They weren’t too loud, and the two musicians really did well on the songs. They knew what they were doing.

Then the door buzzed. Lorraine realized he didn’t want the door buzzing constantly and so he had his mom make a sign that said “Guests, please come on up.” He sent Jason down to figure a way to keep the door open and tape the sign where it was easily seen.

The next forty-five minutes went quickly as Lorraine was kept busy greeting guests. Sunrise arrived, and she and Lorraine went over what they were going to do. People were taking advantage of the bar and hors d’oeuvres tables. Several people from the florists showed up to light the candles and turn on the lights. Then it was time to tell people to find their seats outside and to line up the groomsmen. Lorraine had butterflies in his stomach and felt a little nauseous. He was weighing whether eating something would make him sick or soothe his stomach. He decided not to eat anything. People were now all seated outside. The groomsmen were lined up two by two just inside the door. Lisabeth was behind them with her bowl full of rose petals. It was time to get Philippe.

Lorraine knocked on the door and said, “Philippe it is time.”

“Can you please come in here for a minute?”

“They are all waiting on us.”

“Let them wait. Please, I need to talk to you. I’m not coming out until you talk to me.”

Philippe was making Lorraine nervous. Was he having cold feet? He opened the door and came in.

Philippe took his breath away in his suit. His hair looked amazing. Philippe had been sitting on the bed and got up when Lorraine came in. He was gawking at Lorraine.

“What is wrong, love?”

“You look so good. I could throw you on that bed right now. Think they’d mind waiting a while for us?” Philippe smiled and stepped towards Lorraine.

Lorraine said, “And you look amazing, too. We will have plenty of time when we get to Greece to enjoy each other. Right now, we have guests waiting.”

“Is it okay if I kiss you? I really need to.”

“Yes, just a short—” Philippe moved forward at yes and kissed Lorraine softly but hungrily. “I have to tell you I am really nervous.”

“So am I. Do you have your vow card?”

“Yes. I hope I can get the words out,” Philippe worried.

“Just look me in the eyes and don’t think of anyone else. That should help you. Take a deep breath before you start.”

“Okay, I am ready. Let’s go before they send people in to get us.”

They walked out the door arm in arm just as Fabien was approaching. “People were getting worried and sent me to see what was up. Ready?”

Philippe said, “Let’s do this.”

Fabien and Claudine lined up behind Lisabeth, with Lorraine and Philippe behind them. Lisabeth turned around and said, “Hi, Uncle Philippe,” and smiled. He smiled back at her. Word was passed outside that it was time to begin.

The guitarist switched into the wedding march.

Philippe smiled at Lorraine. “Nice touch.”

The groomsmen walked slowly down the aisle, followed by Lisabeth throwing her rose petals. She was really enjoying her job and being very dramatic about it. The photographer was busy taking shots but staying out of the way. The videographer was capturing the procession.

The garden was beautiful. The small electric lights stretched overhead providing a soft light while all the candles in the glass lanterns scattered around the garden and lining the aisles flickered and glowed. Overhead a few stars were starting to come out as the sun made its descent. The peonies glowed in the candle light while the calla lilies looked black against them. The roses took on a deep red hue. Lorraine had achieved perfection in his designing of the wedding garden. There was a magical feel in the air as the wedding party made their way down the aisle.

Finally, it was time for Fabien and Claudine to make their way down the aisle. As they watched Fabien and Claudine walk down the aisle, Lorraine moved in closer to Philippe. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

They stepped through the doors with every head turned in their direction. Lorraine began trembling and Philippe pushed against him reassuringly. They looked resplendent in their suits. The red tied them together while the black suited the personality of Philippe and complemented his pale complexion and dark hair. Correspondingly, the white fit Lorraine’s personality and his blonde hair flowed beautifully against it. They were a perfect couple.

Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “I feel faint.”

“Breathe!” Philippe whispered back.

Lorraine took several deep breaths. Maybe he should have eaten something. But he had eaten a sandwich at lunch. It was just nerves getting to him.

He saw that the groomsmen were nicely lined up behind the wedding arch. He saw Jason and smiled. Sunrise was standing at the wedding arch and Fabien and Claudine were standing on each side—Fabien on Philippe’s side and Claudine on Lorraine’s. Philippe and Lorraine made it to the wedding arch. The guitarist stopped, and the guests stopped their twittering.

Sunrise opened her small book and cleared her throat. She began, “Our souls travel through the mists of time in search of that one special person. Nothing is sweeter than when we find that one person who understands us completely, who fits to our body completely, who commits to us completely. Philippe d’Orleans and Philippe d’Lorraine have asked you, their closest friends and family, to join them in this special day of their union. Today they profess their love to each other and their commitment to spend the rest of their lives together. They know it will not be easy. There will be good days, there will be bad days. It will require much more than love. It will require patience, understanding, the willingness to compromise, the ability to admit you were wrong, and the humility to accept that admission. After today their souls will be bound together for eternity. In the eyes of the law they will be seen as husband and husband.”

She paused for a moment then said, “May we have the rings now?”

Fabien handed Philippe the finely etched gold wedding band and Claudine handed Lorraine the other etched wedding band.

Sunrise then said, “You may now state your vows.”

Philippe took a deep breath and glanced at the card he had cupped in his hand then started, looking into Lorraine’s eyes as he spoke, “The first day I looked into your eyes I knew you were the one for me. You awakened a hunger in my soul that only you could satisfy. When I lie next to you at night, I celebrate your existence. The love we make is an expression of the love I have for you that lives in my heart. I promise to cherish you, to share with you the good, to help you bear the burdens, to forgive you for not being perfect, and to always, always love you.”

Philippe saw that Lorraine’s eyes had teared up and he was fighting desperately to hold them back, but they were streaming down his face. He stopped and put the card in his pocket then reached over and wiped away Lorraine’s tears gently with his finger tips. Fabien handed him the folded handkerchief from the pocket of his suit. Philippe took it and gently wiped away Lorraine’s tears then put his forehead gently against Lorraine’s. He whispered, “Breathe, love.”

Lorraine took a deep breath.

Philippe continued. He took Lorraine’s left hand with his right hand and held the wedding band up with his other hand. “This wedding band that I now place on your finger is the symbol of my love and commitment and the vows I have made here today. My dear sweet Chevalier, Philippe d’Lorraine, will you take me, Philippe d’Orleans, as your lawfully wedded husband?”

Lorraine managed to say, “Yes, I do.” Philippe slipped the band onto Lorraine’s hand and gently kissed his hand. Now Philippe was fighting the tears. He could hear sniffs coming from the guests and guessed the mothers were crying. He gently let go of Lorraine’s hand.

Lorraine was visibly shaking, trying hard to control himself. He took several large breaths, cleared his throat and began shakily. “I will repeat what I said to you after the first night we spent together. Henceforth, every day that I do not touch you, taste you, feel you, will be a day of death and mourning. I meant it then and I mean it now. My love for you is as strong as the day we met and, Philippe, the truth is, if you don’t love me then no one loves me.”

He stopped to clear his throat again and take another couple of deep breaths. He saw the tears welling in Philippe’s eyes and decided he needed to get the words out before the two of them broke down totally.  “I promise to wake up each day and celebrate the love we have; to never forget the commitment I have made to you on this day; to accept you as you are; to help you carry your burdens; and to always love you.” He took Philippe’s left hand in his right and held the band up in his other hand. “The wedding band that I now place on your finger is the symbol of my love and commitment and the vows I have made this day. My mignonette, Philippe d’Orleans, will you take me, Philippe d’Lorraine, as your lawfully wedded husband?”

Philippe croaked out, “Yes, I do.”

Lorraine slid the band on his finger. The candlelight reflected in the tears in both their eyes and in the tracks of the tears that had slid down their faces.

Sunrise then said, “Philippe d’Orleans and Philippe d’Lorraine, you have made vows to love and commit to each other for the rest of your lives. The rings you have given each other are the symbol of those vows. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss to seal the commitment you have made on this day of your union.”

She barely got the words out before the two were in an embrace, kissing. It was not a demure kiss, but a passionate tongue-twisting kiss that went on and on and on. They were oblivious to everyone but the two of them. The guests started shifting nervously in their seats, but still they kissed. Fabien motioned to the guitar player to play in the hopes of getting their attention.

The guitar player went into his signature tune, Whitney Houston’s “I will always love you.” That caused both mothers to burst into tears again. Lisabeth whispered to her mother, “Why are you crying?” She whispered back, “Because they are happy.” Of course, that made no sense to Lisabeth. “Why is Uncle Philippe kissing that man?” “Because they have just gotten married,” was her mother’s answer. Nothing was making much sense to poor Lisabeth.

The attendants were taking the opportunity to pass out glasses of champagne for the toast. At the end of the song, Philippe and Lorraine ended their kiss and turned to face their friends and family. Tears were streaming down both their faces and Lorraine was visibly shaking. Philippe had his arm tightly around him, supporting him. Fabien and Claudine both held two glasses of champagne and handed their extra to the couple.

Fabien cleared his throat and began. “Friends, family and guests. I am honored to introduce to you the newly married couple, Philippe d’Orleans and Philippe d’Lorraine. Today they begin their married life as husband and husband. Let us all raise our glasses in a toast to their professed love. There is an old wedding toast that I find appropriate here. Only pure love, like steel, endures while there are two. Here is to a love that is stronger than steel!” They all raised their glasses and drank, then cheered and clapped. As they walked back down the aisle the guests threw various kinds of the larger birdseed at them. Lorraine had not wanted to clean up rice and had read that, in some places, birdseed was considered appropriate. Besides he had read rice was thrown because that was a sign of fertility and that was something he and Philippe did not need to worry about.

When they reached the doorway, Lorraine turned around and said, “Please come in and enjoy more of our bar and hors d’oeuvre table while the caterers prepare the tables outside. We will begin the dancing in just a bit.” Then he turned to Philippe and said, “Good god, I need another drink right now” and practically dragged Philippe to the bar where he ordered a sparkling French martini.

Philippe whispered in his ear, “Shouldn’t we just stick to champagne?”

“This has champagne in it.” Lorraine chugged the drink and chewed the raspberry and took a deep breath. “Much better.”

Philippe said, “I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those.” He ordered one for himself and was slowly sipping it, when Lorraine said, “Hurry, we will need to start the dancing soon.” Reluctantly, Philippe chugged his too. It went down smoothly, but he spit the raspberry out into the glass.

Lorraine dragged Philippe to the center of the area they had cleared out for the dancing. He waited for everyone to gather around then spoke up. I dedicate this song to you, Philippe, my love. It is sung by Kate Gibson, written by Leonard Cohen, and is called “Dance me to the end of love.”

[Kate Gibson singing "Dance Me to the End of Love" Written by Leonard Cohen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j87OVg5K9KI)  _(click to listen)_

**_(warning season 3 spoilers)_ **

Lorraine smiled at Philippe and put his arms around him. Lorraine buried his head in Philippe’s chest and they started their slow dance as Lorraine listened to the beating of Philippe’s heart. Never had he loved anyone as he loved Philippe at this moment. When the music ended, he raised his head and kissed Philippe tenderly. Then they turned and faced everyone.

Philippe began, “My dedication to my dear sweet Chevalier is ‘Love of my life’ by Queen. We may have our squabbles and our ups and downs. Neither of us are perfect. But you are truly the love of my life and we will make it through all the difficult times.” As the music started, Philippe took Lorraine’s hand in his and they faced the guests and did a little courtesy, then he twirled Lorraine slowly around in a circle into his arms. Then they started their slow dance hugging each other tightly. Philippe occasionally brushed his lips across Lorraine’s forehead.

[Queen's "Love of My Life"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9woC3Mrq9w&index=9&list=PLKsS-HV7qF3PWB2ux_JujxC7MDqT8CGfP)    _(click to listen)_

When the song was over, they kissed again, tenderly, then turned to their guests. Lorraine announced, “We have hogged the dance floor long enough. Please come join us!” They danced half way through the next song, then Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “I need another one of those sparkling French Martinis.” Philippe followed Lorraine to the bar and ordered one for himself. This time Lorraine sipped the drink.

Philippe said, “You certainly outdid yourself on this one! I could not have imagined a better wedding, love.”

Lorraine said, “I think I surprised myself with this one. But I think these last few days have turned several hairs on my head gray.”

Philippe ran his hands through Lorraine’s hair, “Yes, I see them. Quite a few really.”

“Stop that. You are joking, aren’t you?”

Philippe smiled and said, “Of course I am. But I’d love you even with gray hair.”

“Well, you know gray hairs don’t show up as much in blonde hair as they do in dark hair!” quipped Lorraine. “I think I need a few bites to eat.” He walked over to the hors d’oeuvre table with Philippe close behind. “I’ve wanted to taste these prosciutto-wrapped figs since I ordered them.” He picked one up and took a bite. “They are very good, here have a bite.” He held it up to Philippe’s mouth to taste.

“Yes, very good. I think I’ll try some of that caviar.” Philippe took a taste. “This is the really good stuff. Just how much did you spend on this after all? I have a right to ask now that we are married since we now share all the money.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

“Did I marry a bankrupt man?”

“It set us back a little, but we can afford it. Had to have the best for you, my love.”

“Maybe it is better you don’t tell me the cost until the bill comes.”

“Don’t forget, I’m a successful business man.”

“And I’m a rock star about to make a blazing come back. Guess we can afford a little splurge for our wedding.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine.

“Let’s dance some more!” Lorraine said and pulled Philippe out on the dance floor.

“Maybe after this one, you should take your mom out for a spin. She’s been a big help these last few days.” Philippe told Lorraine.

“Looks like she and my dad are doing fine on their own, but yes, I will ask her next. And you should go talk to your mother. She looks a little lonely over there since Louis is dancing with his wife.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say to her.”

“Thank her for coming. That trip could not have been easy on her. Tell her how nice she looks. Ask her how she’s feeling. You’re a good conversationalist. You’ll find something to say.”

When that song ended, Lorraine went off to interrupt his parents and ask his mom for the next dance while Philippe reluctantly went over to talk to his mother.

His mother lit up when she realized he was headed her way. “Oh, Philippe, you look so handsome in that suit. Your husband is a very handsome man. I hear he planned this whole wedding!”

“Yes, he did. He is very talented and a wonderful partner. He designed all the wedding party outfits. He’s a fashion designer, in case you didn’t know.”

“He is? Louis didn’t tell me that. No wonder you all look so wonderful!”

“He has his own fashion house. It’s called The House of Lorraine and it is one of the top ones in the country. He’s known internationally.”

“You must be very proud of him, then. How is your music coming?”

“I just finished a new album. It’s due out soon. The record execs really like it and think it will do well. It’s a departure from my previous work. My relationship with Lorraine inspired it, so it is a lot more upbeat than my older, somewhat gloomy work.”

“I’m so glad to hear that! So, he’s a good influence on you all the way around, then?”

“Yes, he is. I am lucky to have found him. We are going to be very happy together—well, we already are.”

“I could see that in the way you two look at each other. You know when Louis tried to explain to me how two men could love each other, I had a hard time understanding.”

“That must have been a fun conversation for Louis.” Philippe laughed to himself trying to imagine Louis explaining that to their mom.

“But now that I have seen you together, I understand. Are you going to try and adopt a child in the future? You can do that can’t you?”

“I believe we can, but we haven’t discussed that. We both are very invested in our careers and wouldn’t have time for a child.” The conversation was starting to make Philippe uncomfortable. If his mother started to prattle on about how important children were, he was going to have to turn and walk away.

And sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were, “Children are such a blessing! A marriage is not complete without children to love and cherish.”

Philippe hid the anger he felt and said, “Oh, I think Lorraine needs me. Enjoy yourself. If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask one of our servers. Their job is to ensure our guests have everything they need. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned and walked back in Lorraine’s direction. He decided to get another drink. He decided to try a Manhattan forgetting his earlier advice to Lorraine about mixing whiskey and champagne. Damn, that woman made him angry. What a hypocrite she was to talk about children being a blessing when she had abandoned him as a baby.

When the song ended Lorraine saw that Philippe was off by himself and thought the conversation with his mom must not have gone well from the angry look on his face. He excused himself and hurried over to Philippe. “Stop frowning, love, and kiss me. Only smiles allowed today, no matter how vexing some people can be, okay?”

Philippe smiled and pushed all thought of his mother out of his mind. “Let’s dance!”

“Wait, let me get another drink! I’m thirsty. We can drink and dance if we do it slow enough.”

They danced, a drink in one hand and the other hand around the other’s waist. “Just think, in just about four hours we will be on our way to Greece! Maybe you’ll let me open the box on the jet?”

“No, not until we get to Greece.”

Lorraine fake pouted. “Meanie!”

“No dress, no box.”

The dancing went quickly and soon Lorraine went outside to see how the table set up was going. Everything looked so beautiful! Red table cloths draped the tables with black napkins and elegant white plates. The tables were decorated with three glass lanterns—two contained candles and the third just flowers. There was a rectangular table at the head where he, Phillipe, Fabien and Claudine would sit. Then there were five tables for six. The two closest to their table would hold both sets of families at one and three band members and wives at the other. The other band members and their wives/girlfriend would sit at the center table along with Philippe’s agent, Lily, and Lorraine’s assistant, Leo. Two other tables would hold the rest of the guests—most of which were people who worked for Lorraine or were valued clients or friends.

Sunrise had left shortly after the ceremony when the dancing was underway because she had another engagement. Philippe had given her an amethyst crystal as a gift and thank you for performing the ceremony. She loved it and thanked him for the privilege of uniting him with Lorraine. She parted with, “Don’t forget, I also bless babies!” Philippe thought, what was this obsession women had with babies? Two men didn’t get married so they could have children. They got married because they loved each other, and marriage didn’t always presuppose babies. He’d had plenty of those in his past life.

Lorraine came up to him and said, “A penny for your thoughts. You look deep in thought.”

“It’s nothing. Not even worth a penny.”

“Well, it’s time to get everyone outside for the dinner. Come, let’s announce it.” Lorraine pushed the doors open and said, “Attention everyone! If you will go outside and find the table with your placard on it, we can start the dinner in a few minutes.”

Everyone started shuffling outside. The one advantage of moving his guests around was that it didn’t allow pockets of people to form. They all had to mingle and not break into little cliques. Finally, everyone was seated. Lorraine made the announcement, “The wines have been selected to go with the entrée you selected. Thus, the cabernet sauvignon will go with the filet, the rose with the vegetarian couscous, and the sauvignon blanc with the lobster. If you want something different, let your server know and they will make the adjustment. If you don’t want wine, there is freshly squeezed lemonade or bottled artesian well water—I forget the brand. You can ask your server. They can also get you coffee or hot tea. The meal will start with a fruit and cheese plate followed by the caprese salad. Again, let your server know if there is something you don’t want or anything you need. There will be two servers assigned to each table, so you can work exclusively with them. Enjoy your meal!”

Philippe asked rather sarcastically, “How come that wasn’t on the Agenda?”

Lorraine said, “Because I messed up and didn’t think people might want something besides wine or water. The caterer mentioned it to me after I had the Agendas printed and there was no time to reprint them. See, I am not perfect.”

“Just teasing you, love. You have done a fantastic job and there was bound to be a few little things slip by. That’s just the way things go.”

The fruit plates had three different wedges of cheese, and a few pear slices, grapes, and strawberries—all at the peak of ripeness.

Lorraine saw that, inside, the caterers were moving in the containers with the entrees as the servers started handing out the fruit and cheese plates. Soon he was smelling various delectable food smells coming from the kitchen wafting out to the garden. It was totally dark now and the candles were doing their work lighting up the area in flickering, soft light. Overhead, the sky was full of twinkling stars. He looked over and saw how the candles were softly lighting up Philippe’s face. Philippe looked so handsome tonight and it wasn’t just the suit he had designed.

Philippe looked up and saw him studying him. “Do I have something in my teeth? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. You just look so handsome tonight. I want to take you back to our bedroom and take those clothes off you.”

“You do? Great, let’s go.  I don’t need to eat. You are looking pretty delicious yourself—if you know what I mean. Our guests won’t miss us while they’re eating.”

“You know we can’t do that.”

“But I can think about it—as you are obviously.” Philippe stabbed a grape then held it up to his mouth. He licked it then put his lips sensuously on it sucking it ever so lightly. Then he licked it again and took it with his lips. He looked straight at Lorraine as he sucked the grape into his mouth and slowly chewed it. He followed it with a second grape, then a third.

Lorraine whispered, “Stop that.”

“I’m just eating grapes.”

“You are turning me on.”

“So, you like how I eat grapes?”

“People are staring.”

“Let them stare. This is our night and if I want to flirt with you, I will.” Philippe put his hand on Lorraine’s knee.

“Philippe watch what you do with that hand.”

“No, you watch what I do with this hand.” He started moving his hand up Lorraine’s leg.

“No, stop that. Really, Philippe.”

Fabien leaned over and said, “Philippe, I think he’s serious.”

That made Philippe realize everybody at the table probably knew what was going on. He jerked his hand away. “Oh, okay. When is this over so we can leave?”

“Don’t be so impatient. We only have one wedding party. Enjoy it.”

The servers removed the empty fruit plates and replaced them with the Caprese salads.

“How many courses is this going to be?” Philippe asked.

“Not that many. There will be the entrée with a vegetable, then dessert and cake.”

“Dessert AND cake?”

“You don’t have to eat both if you don’t want to. But the gelato might go really well with the cake. And there’s macarons and fruit tarts.”

“I’ll probably barely have room for cake.”

“And that is fine, my love. Just remember when this is over, we will need energy for Greece. We have a long night ahead of us, but we can sleep in for the next week.”

“I like this tomato with the mozzarella and olive oil. That’s a good tomato.”

Lorraine looked around and saw that all the guests seemed to be enjoying the food.

Soon the entrées were being brought out. Philippe had ordered a beef filet while Lorraine had ordered the lobster. Fabien had ordered the beef filet while Claudine had ordered the lobster, too.

Philippe took a bite of his steak and said, “Wow, you don’t even have to chew this steak. It just melts in your mouth. Do you want a bite?”

“Yes, I would.”

Philippe fed Lorraine a bite of steak and Lorraine fed him a bite of lobster. Philippe saw the vegetarian dish being served to Anna, the wife of Chris, his band mate. “That looks good what is that?”

“It’s the vegetarian dish. It’s a stack of various sautéed or grilled vegetables like eggplant, tomato, summer squash, mushrooms, over couscous and baby lettuces.”

“Oh, think I prefer the filet, then. But it does look pretty. And I guess if you liked those vegetables, then it would be a good meal. Your choice of wines was very good, too. I hope we have some left for when we get back. If not, we’ll have to order more.”

Lorraine noticed that most people were drinking wine and drinking plenty of it. People were starting to get a little loud, too, laughing and joking. He had arranged plenty of cars to take home those who had imbibed too much. With that thought he asked for more wine himself. May as well enjoy his own party. The hard part was all over now, and things had gone very well—other than his blubbering during the ceremony. He had been so focused on planning this whole thing that the importance of what this meant in his and Philippe’s relationship had not hit him until that moment and then it overwhelmed him. He looked down at the gold band and the ruby ring on his finger. He knew both their bands had been inscribed with “Forever, my love.” How true that inscription was.

They ate, drank wine, talked and laughed, then ate more and drank more. He was feeling no pain by the time the meal ended and it was time to cut the cake. Philippe, too, had drunk his fill and he had still refused to promise Lorraine that he wouldn’t stuff the cake in his face. But Lorraine had a plan—he would just grab the entire plate as soon as the cake was cut and keep it away from Philippe.

It was now time to cut the cake. The guests went back inside where the cake was while the servers cleared the tables. Earlier that afternoon, Lorraine had watched anxiously as the cake was moved to the dessert table. The caterers handled it like pros. So far, Philippe had not looked closely at the cake to notice the cake toppers. Now as they stood in front of the cake, Lorraine told Philippe, “You are my hero—have you noticed the cake topper?”

Philippe then took a close look at the topper and burst into a smile. “That is absolutely lovely! It is so finely made, and you look good in red and gold. Guess you really are leading the fashion world now, love, but I haven’t fought any wars lately. Think I’ve had my fill of war, though. But very nice touch.”

Many of the guests had no idea what the two of them were talking about, but their closest friends and family understood perfectly.

“How do we go about this?” Philippe asked.

“We both hold the knife and cut a piece off here. That’s where the caterer said to cut so we don’t knock the tiers over. Then we transfer it to the plate and cut it into two pieces.”

Philippe had that naughty gleam in his eye. “Okay, I’m ready when you are.” The photographer and videographer were ready to take the picture. They both put their hand on the knife and cut the cake, then managed to get it on the knife and to the plate. That is when Lorraine made his move by letting go of the knife and grabbing the plate, twirling away from Philippe. The knife fell onto the table. For some reason, Lorraine had just expected Philippe to stand there quietly, but of course, Philippe didn’t. He lunged at Lorraine whipping around him to grab the plate away. Lorraine tried to wrap his body around the plate to protect it, but Philippe was quick. He got a hand on the plate and jerked. However, that movement sent the cake flying off the plate. They both made a lunge for the cake and wound up on the floor. Lorraine’s hand reached the cake first, and he grabbed a handful and tried to smear it in Philippe’s face, but Philippe rolled out of the way then made his own grab for what was left of the cake. They wrestled on the floor each with cake in his hands ready to smear the other while their guests howled in laughter. Philippe managed to climb on top of Lorraine and pin him down holding his cake hand down. With a grin he smeared Lorraine’s face with the cake in his other hand, then he kissed Lorraine and started licking the cake off his face. “You taste good with strawberries. Now I’m going to move your hand to my face and let you gently put the cake in my mouth. Don’t shove it, okay?”

“I promise.”

Philippe slowly moved Lorraine’s hand towards his mouth. Lorraine didn’t resist until the last minute when he shoved past Philippe’s hand and got the cake onto Philippe’s face. They did more wrestling until, Philippe, once again got control of Lorraine. “What kind of promise was that?”

“I didn’t say what I promised.”

Philippe rubbed his face against Lorraine’s. “Now lick this cake off my face and I’ll lick it off yours.”

The licking became a make-out session with all the guests watching and the video rolling. Again, Fabien stepped in. “I think you two have just about decimated that piece of cake. Need help getting up?”

Philippe rolled off Lorraine and took Fabien’s offered hand to get up. Then they both helped Lorraine up. Lorraine did a hair toss and said, “Well, I think I won that one,” and everybody laughed. Philippe and Lorraine both had another Sparkling French Martini while the servers cut the rest of the cake and served the guests.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “Is this just about over?”

“Yes, almost.”

“What else is there to do?”

“Say good bye to our guests.”

“They don’t look like they are ready to leave.”

“They aren’t leaving, we are.”

“Is it polite to leave our guests?”

“Yes, in this case it is. Fabien and my brother will see to it that all the guests find safe rides home. My family will lock up when they leave tomorrow. Now, let’s start making the rounds.”

Philippe and Lorraine started going around the room talking to each guest. Thanking them for coming and telling them they could stay and continue partying but that they, Lorraine and Philippe, had a plane to catch to Greece. Everyone gushed at how beautiful the ceremony had been and how great all the food was. Many said it was the best wedding they had ever been to. They also wished the couple a happy honeymoon and a great future together.

Philippe asked, “What about all those gifts on that table over there?”

“We’ll open them when we get back. Maybe have a little party to do so. Whatever we feel like. It’s not mandatory to open the gifts at a wedding.”

“If you say so. You’re the expert.”

“I say so.”

Soon they had said goodbye to everybody. Their driver had already carried all their bags downstairs, so all they had to do is wave goodbye. On the way out, Philippe grabbed an unopened bottle of champagne. “For the plane,” he explained.

“There’s already champagne on the plane.”

“Then we’ll have extra.”

Soon they were on their way to the airport. They kissed almost the whole way there. Philippe whispered, “Can we have sex on the jet?”

“It wouldn’t be polite to the crew. We just have to wait until we get to Greece. Let’s have some champagne and get our minds off sex for a while.”

At the airport they made it up the steps into the jet, but barely. They were both a little wobbly on their feet.

The crew greeted them, and they found their seats.

“You are right. I didn’t realize this jet would be so small. There really is no privacy.”

“What, did you think it would be large like an airliner jet?”

“I didn’t really know. Does it have a bathroom? I need to get rid of some champagne.”

“Can you wait until we take off?”

“No, not really.”

“Okay but hurry up so you don’t delay our take-off. They won’t take off until we are seated and buckled up.”

Philippe staggered as fast as he could to the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later with a relieved look on his face. Soon they were lifting off and the pilot told them they could take off their seat belts and move freely about.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “That bathroom is pretty small, but I think we could make it work.”

“Make what work?”

Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine with plenty of tongue and plenty of passion. Lorraine resisted, “Philippe I said we can’t have sex on the jet and I know where this kind of kiss leads.”

Philippe reached over and felt Lorraine’s crotch. “Yes, that’s the whole idea. We can have sex in the bathroom.”

“Are you out of your mind or too drunk to think straight? That bathroom is too small.”

Philippe reached out and took Lorraine’s face in both his hands and kissed him, long and hard. Lorraine tried to resist but gave in.

After a few more ardent kisses, Lorraine said, “Well, you got what you wanted. I’ve got an erection now.”

“Good. Let’s go to the bathroom. Come on.” Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s hand and pulled him. “You go in first. Pull your pants down, put the lid down and sit.”

Lorraine rolled his eyes, “You know this isn’t that romantic.”

“I don’t need romance right now. We can do that in Greece.”

Philippe came in and managed to get on his knees in front of Lorraine. His feet were jammed against the wall, but he ignored the pain. “Our first blow job as a married couple!” Philippe announced as he put his mouth over the head of Lorraine’s cock. Philippe’s knees were crushing his feet, but Lorraine didn’t notice at all as Philippe’s mouth did its magic. Lorraine moaned loudly as he reached his climax and shot his seed into Philippe’s mouth. Philippe looked up at Lorraine with a grin. “See, I told you we could do this! I wonder which country we are flying over now? Now, let me get out, then you can get out and I can get in.”

Philippe managed to wiggle his way out of his cramped position. “Good thing, we don’t take too long at this. I could have gotten a pretty good cramp in that position.”

Lorraine got up and made his way out of the bathroom, so Philippe could go in. Soon Lorraine had wiggled his way into the cramped kneeling position. “How did you do this? My feet are killing me.”

“Don’t think about your feet. Think about me.”

Lorraine gave all his attention to Philippe’s hard cock. Soon Philippe moaned as he, too, reached climax.

Lorraine quickly removed his mouth and wiggled his way out. “Not a moment too soon. The blood has stopped circulating in my feet.” When Lorraine got outside the bathroom, he shook his legs and feet to get the blood flowing again. “You know, this was just absolutely stupid. We could have waited and done this in comfort.”

“Maybe you could have waited, but I couldn’t. Let’s have some more champagne.”

They sat in their seats and drank another glass of champagne. Philippe had his arm around Lorraine and Lorraine cuddled into Philippe with his head on his chest. “It’s been a truly wonderful day.”

They both fell fast asleep. The captain smiled as he thought, “Peace at last.” It was amazing how a little drop in the oxygen level calmed almost every passenger. He raised the level as soon as he was sure they were sleeping soundly. It was the end of a wonderful day for the newly married Philippe and Lorraine. And a new day started—the first in their life as a married couple.

 


	41. The Mysterious Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe arrive at the island of Santorini Greece in the early morning hours. Philippe and Lorraine get a proposition from their good-looking young attendant whose name, Egan, means Little Fire. A bet is placed on the ulterior motives of Egan. Philippe reveals the contents of the mysterious box he gave Lorraine as a wedding present and their honeymoon begins.

Two and a half hours later the attendant gently woke Lorraine and Philippe. “We will be making our descent and landing shortly. If there is anything you need to do before then, do it now.”

Philippe rubbed his eyes and yawned. Lorraine sat up, stretched and yawned.

Lorraine said, “I think I want to change out of this wedding suit. I meant to change earlier but somehow never got the chance.” He was groggy and still about half drunk. He stood up and stumbled over to the strapped in luggage and pointed out the bag he needed to the attendant who removed it for him. He pointed at a second one that held Philippe’s clothing. “Philippe, you want to change, too, don’t you?”

Yawning, Philippe said, “It seems a shame that once we take these suits off, we won’t wear them again.”

“We could wear them every year on our anniversary.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“If we can get the cake out, that is.” Then he asked the attendant, “Are we supposed to change in that bathroom? There really isn’t much room.”

“If you don’t want to change in the bathroom, we will turn our backs and not watch, so you will have privacy.”

Lorraine was acutely aware that the attendant was probably thinking there was enough room for two men to have sex in the bathroom so there should be room for one man to change clothes. Still, he said, “Thank you, if you would do that, we would appreciate it. Here Philippe, I got these clothes for you.” He handed Philippe one of the vacation outfits of loose pants and shirt and the jacket since it was early morning and might be chilly. Lorraine had similar clothing for himself.

Philippe was still yawning but took the clothes and began changing. Lorraine also changed and soon he was carefully folding their wedding suits, but he didn’t want to put them in their bags where they would probably be crushed. He thought he might buy a small suitcase in Greece for just the suits. But he had no idea what he would do with them now.

The attendant saw Lorraine’s hesitation and guessed what his problem was. “We have some bags that you could put the two suits in for now. They are just plastic bags with handles, but it would be better than crushing those two beautiful suits in that luggage with the other clothes.” The attendant went to a bin and got out two bags that would be just the right size to hold the folded suits.

“Thank you! Those will be perfect. I hope the hotel can help us get these suits steam cleaned, then they can be properly folded and put in new baggage I plan to buy for just the suits.”

Philippe had changed into his clothes and was remarking how loose they were. “Especially here!” he said grabbing the crotch of his pants and waving the material around.

Lorraine said, “I hope you put the underwear on I gave you. Otherwise you are going to be grabbing your crotch all day adjusting _things_.”

“Yes, I did. It still feels strange, though.”

“After a week of wearing those nice comfortable clothes, you will find wearing your tight jeans very uncomfortable! Now stop complaining!”

“I wasn’t complaining, I was commenting. There’s a difference.”

Lorraine rolled his eyes and decided it was useless to argue.

At that time, the captain came over the speaker, “ Please find a seat and buckle in. We will be making our descent into Thiro airport momentarily.”

They sat in their seats and looked out the small window. There was enough moonlight to reveal the sea dotted with the lights of various sized boats. As they crossed over the land and circled into the airport, they could see the lights of Thiro—their first glimpse of their destination. It was beautiful! Whitewashed, round-edged buildings crowded together and clung to the steep hillside lit by warm lights inside and outside. Spots of bright blue illuminated swimming pools dotting the hillside with the occasional blue roof of a building. The most striking thing was the absence of a gridwork of streets seen in most other cities. They could make out what they guessed were paths that wound between the tightly packed buildings, but no wide streets complete with the prerequisite street lamps—not on the hillsides of Thiro, at least.

Then began their descent into the airport. Lorraine hoped that his private car reservation had gone  through and the car would be waiting for them. He didn’t relish the thought of having to sit in the airport until the morning and then having to arrange other transportation. The hotel did offer a car, but that had required prior notice and Lorraine had opted for the private car reservation. There was also the hotel shuttle, but he wasn’t sure if that ran this early in the morning. He would find out soon enough if he even had to worry about these options.

This early in the morning, there wasn’t a lot of activity at the airport, although there were a few other private jets lined up at the terminals. They were finally allowed to unbuckle and prepare to leave the jet. They gathered their carry-ons and the bags with the suits and were finally walking down the steps from the jet. The sea air was crisp and salty in their noses and the early morning sea breeze cool on their skin. They got in the cart that would take them to the terminal and waited for their luggage to be unloaded from the jet and loaded onto the cart.

“Isn’t this air so fresh and clean!” Lorraine exclaimed.

“Smells a little fishy to me.”

“Why do you always have to be negative? I don’t smell anything fishy. Maybe if we were close to where the fishing boats unloaded it might be a little fishy, but not here.”

“Well, I caught a whiff of fish, but it’s gone now.” Philippe smiled at Lorraine. He was just teasing to see how Lorraine would react.

Lorraine sighed. Philippe knew how to push his buttons. Sometimes that was good and sometimes that was vexing. But that was Philippe and he loved him—all sides of him.

The cart shook as their luggage was loaded and before long, they were off to the terminal. They had to go through customs and show their passports and have their bags inspected, but since the airport wasn’t busy, it didn’t take too much time. As they left customs, Lorraine saw a man dressed in a driver’s uniform with a sign “Lorraine-Orleans.” He breathed a sigh of relief. The driver informed them that the drive would take about thirty minutes. If they needed to refresh or relieve themselves, he pointed out the restrooms. There were also several vendors open selling drinks, water and snacks.

Lorraine told the driver, “Yes, I think we will refresh ourselves and get us something to drink, thank you.”

The driver said he would see the porter to the car, get their luggage settled then would be back to show them the way to the car. He pointed out where he would meet back up with them. He also told them they could put their carry-ons and bags on the cart with their luggage and he would see to it personally. Lorraine thanked him as they handed him the items.

The porter and driver left, and Philippe and Lorraine hurried to the restroom. They had quite a bit alcohol to get out of their systems. Washing their faces in the sinks felt very good. Then Lorraine started laughing. “Hold still, Philippe.” He wet a paper towel and rubbed it into a spot on the back of Philippe’s head.

“What are you doing?”

“Removing some dried cake icing that is stuck in your hair.”

“I can’t wait to take a shower!”

“Me, too.” They looked at each other and smiled at the thought of taking a shower together. Philippe reached out and drew Lorraine to him for a soft kiss. He whispered in his ear, “This is going to be a wonderful week, love”

Lorraine kissed him back and whispered, “Yes, it is.” They left the bathroom hand in hand and went to one of the vendors to get some bottled water. They were parched after drinking all that alcohol. The driver met them and showed them to their car. Soon they were whisking along the darkened streets of Thiro. Houses, most painted white with the occasional blue roof, clung to the cliffs and hillside of the village. Warm yellow lights lit up some of the houses where the people were still up. The pools of the many hotels shone with brilliant ocean blue lights. It was a quieter place than Paris and a sky full of stars shone overhead.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “You know those stars remind me of the night sky at Versailles once you got away from the palace grounds.”

“Or the skies we’d sit out and watch at St. Cloud.”

“Yes, sometimes I miss the simplicity of those days at St. Cloud.”

“Except for the times you would be railing against Louis about one thing or another. Don’t forget how much he controlled you back then. I know you hated that.”

“Yes, I guess it wasn’t always that happy there. At least now we are our own people and can do whatever we want. And right now, I want to kiss you.” Philippe used his hand to push back Lorraine’s hair and kissed him softly. “The best part about living in modern times is that I have been able to marry you. We didn’t have that luxury at Versailles.” Lorraine’s response was smothered by another kiss.

They didn’t see much of Thiros on the rest of their thirty-minute car ride to the hotel. The driver had to clear his throat several times to get their attention when they arrived. The porters were already unloading their luggage. They got out of the car. Lorraine thanked the driver and gave him a generous tip. The porters showed them where the main lobby of the hotel was. They too were tipped.

When Lorraine told them his name, the hotel clerk said, “Oh, Mr. Lorraine and Mr. Orleans! We have been expecting you! Welcome to Mystique Hotels! Your villa is ready and waiting for you as soon as we deal with these small details.”

They took care of the check-in paperwork. The porter had already left to take the luggage to their rooms.

“As per your request, one of our personal servers will be up to your room with the snack you requested. There already is a bottle of champagne chilling in your room and a hospitality basket. Most of our restaurants open at eight in the morning and stay open until midnight. The Captain’s Lounge has a wonderful breakfast and tables out on a terrace with beautiful views. Located in a one-hundred-year-old Captain’s house it is an interesting place just to walk around and look at. We can also serve you breakfast in your villa if you arrange for it the day before. We can serve any meal to you there. Just let us know. Our goal is to make this the best experience for you.”

“Thank you. We probably won’t be ready to eat until lunch, but we will check out the Captain’s Lounge,” Lorraine answered.

“Very well, here is your guide to take you to your room.”

Their guide was a very handsome young man of about twenty-four who smiled and then winked at Philippe. Philippe smiled back, then took Lorraine’s hand, “Come on, love.”

The young man smiled coyly at Lorraine, too, and said, “This way, please.”

They began their ascent to their villa up the long winding path populated by many stairs. Before long both Philippe and Lorraine were breathing hard.  Their guide stopped and said, “Perhaps you’d like to stop and look at this fabulous view for a few moments?”

“Yes, please,” panted Philippe.

“This island forms the edge of the caldera that was left after a large volcano erupted—you’ll be able to see it better during the day. The volcanic soil is good for growing many plants including vineyards. We make our own special wine from those grapes. You should try it while you are here. It is very good. Are you ready to begin again?”

“Yes.”

They finally reached their villa, the last one on the foot path.

“I know that was a pretty steep climb, but I think you will find the view and the privacy well worth it.”

“We had a … long day and a … longer night, so … we’re both … a little worn out. … We’ll be okay … tomorrow after … some rest.” Explained Lorraine between breaths.

“I totally understand. My name is Egan. In Greek that means _little fire_. If you need anything, you can call the desk and ask for it. If you tell them you’d like me to be your attendant, they will send me whenever I am available.  I will be glad to help you.”

Philippe said, “Thank you, Egan. We’ll do that.”

“I’m off tomorrow, but if you want, I can come by tomorrow afternoon and give you a personal tour.”

“We couldn’t ask you to do that on your day off,” Lorraine said.

“Oh, but it would be my pleasure. I like you both. I imagine you have some interesting stories to tell. I understand you are from Paris. That is such a romantic city, so I hear.”

“Not so romantic when you live there. But we’ve come here because we heard this was such a magical place.” Philippe said.

“I could add some magic to your experience.” Egan said coyly. “I’m very experienced with three-ways—what is the word in French?”

“Menage a trois,” interjected Lorraine. “We have a very busy day tomorrow.”

“But we might find some time later in the week. Let us discuss it and we’ll get back to you,” Philippe returned.

Lorraine frowned at Philippe.

“I look forward to hearing from you, then. Have a good morning and day.” Egan smiled. He turned and walked seductively away with Philippe enjoying the view.

Philippe looked at Lorraine and said, “You are frowning! You said no frowning while we are on honeymoon!”

“We just got married and now you’re flirting with that young whore!”

“He’s not a whore! He’s a nice young man who happens to like us and wants to help spice up our honeymoon.”

“Don’t be so naïve!”

“Don’t be so pessimistic!”

“He’ll show up and throw himself at us—or at you since he sees you’re the weak link—then give us some sob story how he needs money thinking we’ll feel sorry for him. Or else, he’ll just come out and ask for money up-front”

“Wanna place money on it? I bet you he is exactly who and what he says he is. A young man who just wants an exciting experience.”

“No, I don’t want to bet on it.”

“That’s because you know you are wrong.”

“Okay. Call the front desk and ask them to send him up again and tell him we’ll meet with him. I know he will try to get money from us. I will bet you one hundred dollars!”

“It’s a bet!” Philippe got on the phone and made the call. Just a little later, Egan knocked on the door. Philippe answered it.

“The front desk said you asked for me?”

“Yes, we discussed it and we’d like to take your offer for tomorrow afternoon.” Philippe told Egan.

Egan smiled and looked at Lorraine. “You won’t regret it. Would three o’clock be a good time for you?”

Philippe answered, “Yes, we will see you then.”

Egan smiled at both Philippe and Lorraine, then turned and walked away—again as seductively as he could.

Philippe closed the door then said to Lorraine, “He has a nice tight young ass, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, and yours is old and saggy,” Lorraine quipped back.

“But you said not too long ago I had a fine ass.”

“I changed my mind. I’m allowed to change my mind, aren’t I?”

Philippe put his arms around Lorraine. “Please don’t be mad,” and gave Lorraine his best puppy eyes.

Lorraine looked down avoiding those eyes. Philippe put his hand under Lorraine’s chin and raised his face to look into his eyes. “You do know there is no one I love more than you, don’t you?”

Lorraine looked at Philippe, “Yes.”

“And I don’t want to do anything to make you mad at me. If we meet with him and you still don’t want to go through with it, then we won’t.”

“Promise?”

“I promise we won’t go through with it unless you want to. And I keep my promises.” He kissed Lorraine softly. “I don’t want to ruin our honeymoon with some meaningless menage a trois. I just thought it would add some variety.” He kissed Lorraine and slipped his tongue into his mouth to give him a properly lusty kiss. Lorraine gave in to the kiss.

“I can’t stay mad at you. But you can be so vexing sometimes. You know, it used to be me who was vexing. How did things get so switched around?”

“I learned your game and made it mine. I perfected it.” Philippe smiled. “Shall we check out those snacks and open the champagne?”

“Yes, I’m hungry. I don’t know how much champagne I want after last night, but I’ll have a glass, at least.”

Their snack was a variety of deli meats, cheese, fruit slices and grapes with some thin hand-made crackers.

Philippe opened the champagne and poured two glasses. The meats were exceptionally good, the fruits perfectly ripe. The champagne was exceptionally smooth and good.

This time it was Lorraine’s turn to play with the grapes. He plucked one and brought it to his mouth. He licked it sensuously with his tongue then wrapped his lips around it softly and leaned over to Philippe to offer him the grape from his lips. Philippe smiled and bent over to lick the grape with his tongue, then kissed Lorraine, taking the grape into his own mouth. He bit it, sending the juice into both their mouths. They kissed, sucking in the juice. At the end of the kiss, Philippe ate the grape and swallowed it. It was his turn to lick the grape and offer it to Lorraine.

After a couple of glasses of champagne and the other snacks, their stomachs were satisfied, and they turned to satisfying other hungers. Philippe, however, pulled back and said, “Wait. I’ve got something I want to give you.”

“And I’ve got something I want to give you, but we don’t need to stop.”

“Have you forgotten about the box?”

“Box? No, I haven’t but I figured you wouldn’t show it to me until you got to wear the dress.”

“I know I’ll get to wear my dress when it’s time. Now is the time to show you my present.”

Philippe got up and went over to his bag and pulled out his clothes to get to the box. He handed it to Lorraine. “For your pleasure, my love.”

Lorraine tore the carboard box apart to find a wooden box inside just slightly smaller than the cardboard box. The beautiful wood was finely sanded and waxed to a soft gleam. A pair of finely tooled metal clasps held the box closed. Lorraine undid the clasps gently and carefully opened the box. Inside, it was lined with a deep red velvet. Velvet-lined indentions held various items. Lorraine’s face glowed with excitement as he picked up and inspected each item. There was a soft blue velvet mask with ties. Long velvet ties accompanied the mask. The next item was a small leather cat-of-nine-tails. Lorraine snapped it playfully at Philippe.

“Hmmm. Just right for smacking one fine ass,” Lorraine said.

Next Lorraine picked up what looked to be a stylized penis dildo. Lorraine inspected it and found the on switch. It began vibrating. “Whatever this is made of feels so lifelike.”

“It has four speeds and I can think of some good uses for it.” Philippe offered.

Lorraine turned it off and said, “Well, I prefer the real thing, but if you say you have some good uses for it, then I am willing to let you show me.”

Next Lorraine picked up a strange L-shaped object. “Okay this one stumps me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you, it’s a prostate stimulator.”

Next, there were a couple of very soft ostrich feathers. “I bet these are for tickling.”

There were six vials of various oils. Lorraine picked one up that was marked  **Stimulating.** “I wonder how this one feels.” He opened it up and put a little on his forearm. “Whoa! That is stimulating but not sure I want it on my cock.”

“We can experiment with it. There are other areas that can be stimulated, you know.”

“Here, stick out your arm and let me put some on you. You’ll see what I mean.”

“Okay, that is very stimulating. But I can still think of uses for it.”

Next there was a two-inch cylinder with what looked like a circle of points inside it. Lorraine made a face as he tried to figure out its use.

Philippe took it from him and showed how to hold it and push the center of the top, so the points came out of the cylinder. He demonstrated on Lorraine’s arm. It was a simple stimulator that caused a prickling sensation without breaking the skin or doing harm. “No one is using that on my cock!”  Lorraine declared.

“It’s not for that. Imagine how this would feel on _your_ fine ass. With this and that whip I could get your ass humming with sensation.”

“If you say so. Remember I don’t like pain.”

“Neither do I, but there is a fine line between pain and pleasure.”

Next there was a small box of small clips. Lorraine held the open box in his palm and showed it to Philippe. “Tell me what these are.”

“Nipple clips.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. I’ve been told they are very stimulating.”

Lorraine rolled his eyes.

The next item was a small long, slender cylinder with a clear round point on the end. It had an on-off button. Lorraine pushed the button and jumped as the end sent a small shock into where it touched his hand.

“Okay, this is downright sinister.”

“Did it really hurt you or just startle you?”

“Well, I guess it didn’t hurt me. My opinion on that one is still out until you prove to me it doesn’t hurt.”

The next item was a box of folded long cloths with various textures: soft, sticky, slick, abrasive, spongy and so on. “I understand what these are but am not sure what they would be used for. I am sure you will show me.”

The final item was a book on various ways to use the items along with drawings of various sex positions and other information on enhancing sex. “This is one book I will have to read. I bet you already read it.”

“Yes, had to read something on those days I had nothing to do.” Philippe smiled slyly. “Besides, someone needed to know how to use these things, otherwise it would slow us down too much.”

“Yes, but I am afraid I am going to be the guinea pig.”

Philippe said, “I promise that you can use anything in here on me once, even if it hurts you.”

“How big of you.”

“Okay, I will let you use it on me as I tell you how to use it.”

“That’s better.”

Philippe leaned over and put his lips on Lorraine’s and nibbled them, then slipped his tongue between them and kissed him passionately. He whispered, “We need a little warm up before we decide which ones to use first.”

Lorraine whispered back, “Shouldn’t we decide on a safe word, first?”

“Yes, I already have one, STOP. These things are not going to hurt us, but if, for whatever reason, you don’t want to continue, just say stop. I promise I will stop.”

Philippe grabbed the hair on the back of Lorraine’s head and pulled his head backwards to expose Lorraine’s neck. He started at the jawline just under the ear and sucked and kissed his way across to the other ear.  Lorraine made a counter-move by grabbing Philippe’s face with both hands and kissing him long and hard.

Philippe responded by pushing Lorraine down and sweeping all the pillows off the couch and climbing on top of him. He moved his hands down and found the bottom of Lorraine’s loose shirt and pulled it over his head and tossed it on the floor. Then he reached across to the open box on the coffee table and grabbed the box of nipple clips. He took one out.

“If this hurts, let me know and I will immediately remove it.” He kissed his nipple then sucked on it with his lips. Then he carefully put the clip on it. “Is that okay?”

“Actually, it is quite stimulating.”

Philippe repeated with the other side. Then he reached across and grabbed the velvet mask. “Raise your head.

“I’m not sure about this.”

“Do you trust me?”

Lorraine hesitated then said, “Yes.”

Philippe tied the mask loosely on Lorraine’s face. It covered only his eyes so, Philippe could kiss him, which he did softly, then slipping his tongue between his lips, more passionately. Philippe pushed his body against Lorraine’s. The thinner and softer fabric of their vacation clothes felt smooth on their skin and didn’t provide as much of a barrier as did jeans and tee shirt material. They could feel each other’s tightening cocks much easier. Philippe flicked each attached clip with his finger which caused Lorraine to flinch. “Did that hurt?”

“No, it just surprised me. We’re good. My nips are starting to tingle.”

“Is that okay?”

“Actually, feels good.”

Philippe removed one clip and sucked and nibbled on the nipple before replacing the clip and doing the other side. Then he worked down to Lorraine’s belly nibbling and sucking as he went. His hands went to the drawstring on Lorraine’s pants and untied them. He slipped the pants down Lorraine’s hips, then to his knees. He followed with Lorraine’s underwear, freeing Lorraine’s hardening cock.

Philippe reached over and took one of the ostrich feathers out of the box. Lorraine could feel Philippe was up to something and braced himself for whatever was about to happen. Philippe ran the feather around each of Lorraine’s nipples down the middle of his chest to his belly and to his pubic hair where he twirled the feather in the hairs. Lorraine squirmed at the touch, unwilling to say stop but wanting to desperately. “I know you hate to be tickled so I am going to remember this!” Lorraine threatened.

Philippe didn’t answer. Instead, he took one of the vials of oil from the box. It was marked Cherry-vanilla. Philippe smiled and said, “My favorite!”

Lorraine asked, “Favorite what?” Then flinched when Philippe rubbed the oil on his cock. His cock responded quickly, and Philippe smiled. He pushed up Lorraine’s knees and felt around for a couple of the cushions he had knocked on the floor and put them under Lorraine’s hips. Lorraine thought he knew what was coming next. Philippe’s finger entering him confirmed what he had thought. Philippe worked the finger adding another to enlarge and prepare him. He reached over and grabbed the dildo and slowly inserted it into Lorraine. Lorraine moaned and arched his back. He thought it was Philippe in him so was completely caught off guard when Philippe turned on the dildo to the first setting then bent over and put his mouth over the head of Lorraine’s cock. Lorraine made a loud groan as the double stimulation drove him crazy. Philippe licked Lorraine’s cock enjoying the cherry flavoring. He increased the dildo to the second setting causing another loud groan from Lorraine. Lorraine squirmed and made little crying noises as Philippe’s mouth worked on his cock and the dildo increased the sensations. Philippe’s hands tried to hold Lorraine still, to no avail. He had to take his mouth off Lorraine’s cock because he was afraid of injuring him as much as he was moving.  He used his hands to continue stimulation until Lorraine bucked hard and yelled “Oh, godddddddd!”as he came, spewing his seed over himself and Philippe. Then he was yelling, “Turn it off! Turn it off!” as he writhed. Philippe was already trying to find the off switch, but Lorraine’s writhing was making it difficult. He finally found it and Lorraine stopped the frantic writhing but was moaning, arcing his back and trying to pull his knees up to his chest. He kept repeating “Damn. Damn. Damn.”

Philippe was worried that somehow, he had hurt Lorraine. “Love are you okay?”

“Oh, damn, Philippe.”

“Are you mad at me? Did I hurt you?”

Lorraine was slowing his movements and his breathing calmed. He took the mask off his face and looked up at Philippe.

Philippe started to ask again, “Are you okay?” but didn’t get the words out as Lorraine grabbed his face and kissed him hard.

“Oh god, that was incredible,” Lorraine managed to say. “That mask really adds a sense of suspense. And that dildo. I thought it was you, so I was totally surprised when you turned it on. That and your mouth on my cock was almost more than I could take. I love that box you got me! Give me a few minutes to get my strength back and I will see how I can surprise you. Take those clips off, please. Don’t lose them!”

Philippe removed the clips and put them in the box, closing the lid. He leaned over Lorraine and ran the back of his hand down the side of his face. “I am glad you liked that, love. Just goes to prove, you never know when you’ll find new avenues of pleasure.”

“Of course, I am at a disadvantage because I haven’t read the book, but I will see what I can think up.”

“Love, let me pour us some more champagne while you recover.” Philippe sat up and poured two more glasses of champagne. “I think we each need a wet cloth. I’ll be right back.” Philippe went into the bathroom and returned with the wet cloths. He tenderly wiped both of them clean.

Lorraine sat up, took his glass and took a swig of wine. “God, I’m still tingling and throbbing.”  He looked at the items in the box and picked up a few considering his options. “I’m definitely using this mask on you. Maybe these velvet ties. I think I want to move this into the bedroom. The cushion on this sofa is pretty thin.”

“Sounds like you are getting serious about this.”

Lorraine gave Philippe a sly smile. “It is very serious. I owe you one. Come on let’s get this box and champagne and glasses into the bedroom.”

Lorraine went in to look around. “Let’s drag the coffee table in here. That little nightstand isn’t going to hold all this stuff. Damn that headboard isn’t going to do what I want it to. I’ll have to work around it. Where’s a four-poster bed when you need it?”

Philippe was getting worried. Just what did Lorraine have in mind?

Finally, Lorraine had things set up the way he wanted them. He kissed Philippe and pushed him on the bed with his legs still touching the floor. Lorraine pulled Philippe’s shirt over his head, then took Philippe’s pants and underwear off.

“Sit up a minute.” Lorraine instructed.

When Philippe sat up, Lorraine tied the mask on his face firmly. Then he took one of the velvet ties and tied Philippe’s hands together over his head. He then took Philippe’s face in his hand and kissed him gently. “Are you ready?” Philippe shook his head yes. Lorraine bit his bottom lip then nibbled on his top lip, inserting his tongue slightly into his mouth. He kissed him passionately. Pushing him back on the bed and leaning his naked body against Philippe’s naked body. He nibbled on Philippe’s ear, blew in it, then kissed his neck running his mouth down his chest to his belly. Philippe braced for what he thought was coming next, but Lorraine slipped off Philippe back onto the floor.

“You need to move over here close to the edge of the bed where the coffee table is, so I can reach my tools of torture.” Lorraine helped Philippe sit and slide over then pushed him back down again. He reached over and took one of the vials out. It read Rum Fizz. Lorraine shrugged and thought he’d try that one. He liked rum. He poured it gently onto Philippe’s somewhat soft cock. The oil started fizzing and bubbling.

Philippe almost shouted, “What the hell is that?”

“Does it hurt?”

“Well, no. But it tickles a lot.”

Lorraine bent over and took the head of Philippe’s cock in his mouth and ran his mouth slowly down the shaft sucking as he went. Philippe relaxed a little since the worst of the fizzing had been licked away by Lorraine’s tongue. Then his cock started tingling.

“Oh, my god.”

“What’s wrong?”

“That stuff is making my cock tingle.”

“Good.”

“Don’t you dare use more of that on me. Use the cherry-vanilla, instead.”

“Okay, wimp. Now scoot back. I want you all the way on the bed but not all the way to the top.” Lorraine helped Philippe scoot all the way onto the bed then crawled up to straddle him. “You okay. love?”

Philippe answered, “Yes. But when is it my turn?”

Lorraine didn’t answer. Instead, he began sucking on Philippe’s nipples. He reached over and got the box of nip clips, pulled two out and put the box back. He got the Rum Fizz oil and put it on Philippe’s nipples and let it fizz for a bit. “How’s that feel?”

“Scintillating. Is it that fizz stuff?”

“Yes.” Lorraine bent down and licked and sucked first one, then the second nipple, then put clips on both. He flicked them with his finger making Philippe flinch. Then he stretched his body  over Philippe’s pressing against him and began kissing him ardently. He slowly grinded on Philippe, as they kissed and felt Philippe’s cock responding. He got back on his hands and knees and moved downward, kissing and sucking Philippe’s body as he went. He kissed Philippe’s belly then moved down and took Philippe’s cock in his mouth causing him to moan because Philippe wasn’t quite expecting that, yet. Lorraine made Philippe moan more as he worked on stimulating him. He pushed Philippe’s legs up, so they were bent at the knees and his feet were resting on the bed. Then he pushed Philippe’s thighs backward and rubbed oil into the area below his cock. Then his oiled finger entered Philippe and began preparing Philippe for his next step which was to insert the dildo slowly into Philippe who moaned at the sensation.

Philippe guessing that it was the dildo, tensed waiting for Lorraine to turn it on. Lorraine reached up and took a pillow off the top of the bed and put it under Philippe’s buttocks, so he could let go of his legs resting them feet down on the bed.

He reached over and grabbed the ostrich feather. He ran it around Philippe’s pubic hair then up to his hard cock. Philippe yelled, “Stop.” Lorraine had known that was coming and did as he was told. He put the feather away and grabbed the whip. He pushed Philippe’s legs to one side and slapped the whip against his buttock several times trying to judge just how hard to swing without hurting. He let that side down and reached over to grab the metal cylinder. He laid the whip down on the bed momentarily and pushed Philippe’s other side over and touched the tip of the turned-on cylinder to Philippe’s buttock.

Philippe flinched but didn’t say “Stop.”

With both tools at the ready, Lorraine turned on the dildo, which Philippe had momentarily forgotten about. He let out a loud moan. “God, that is intense!” Lorraine took turns whipping and electrifying both of Philippe’s buttocks. Philippe was now moaning and groaning. Lorraine decided the buttocks were amply stimulated and went in for the “kill shot”—his mouth on Philippe’s cock. With one hand, he gently pushed and pulled the dildo in and out of Philippe’s hole, while he sucked on his cock. It was a lot like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time, but Philippe was too busy making noises and writhing to notice any missteps Lorraine made. Lorraine used his body weight to keep Philippe’s lower half from moving too much. Philippe wanted desperately to flail about with his hands, but they were tied together. Lorraine turned the dildo to the third setting and Philippe shouted, “Oh god no!” But he had not yelled stop, so Lorraine continued.

Philippe’s moans and groans were very loud now, and Lorraine knew it wouldn’t be long. He was surprised Philippe had lasted this long. Then Philippe yelled several unintelligible words, his cock throbbed and spewed his seed into Lorraine’s mouth. It was Philippe’s time to yell, “Ohhhh goddddd!” Lorraine turned off the dildo remembering how uncomfortably intense it was at that point. He removed his mouth from Philippe’s cock and moved up to kiss Philippe. Philippe was still moaning and writhing. The moaning gave way to “Damn oh damn oh damn.”

Lorraine smiled in satisfaction. He knew exactly what Philippe was feeling now.  He reached over and removed the mask and the velvet ties. He removed the clips and set everything on the coffee table. He stroked Philippe’s face tenderly. The touch connected with Philippe who opened his eyes. Lorraine kissed him softly. It was going to be one hell of a honeymoon.


	42. The Magic Pool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is their first day in Greek island complex known as Santorini in the little village of Oia on the northern edge of the crescent-shaped main island. They enjoy sleeping in, taking a shower and taking a stroll to get something to eat. They meet up with Egan. They take a stroll to an art gallery where Philippe buys a necklace to go with the beautiful gown he is going to wear out. Later they take a dip in the pool, where Philippe gets amorous with surprising results.

The phone was ringing but neither Philippe nor Lorraine heard it. Philippe was laying behind Lorraine with his arms protectively around him, his leg draped over Lorraine’s. They were sleeping off the events of the last few days. The wedding had been wonderful but exhausting—both physically and emotionally. It had taken a big toll on Lorraine who had planned it down to the last detail. Lots of champagne and Sparkling French Martinis had been drunk by the two at the wedding. They had arrived in Greece in the wee hours of the morning, half drunk and exhausted, but that had not stopped them from exploring the delights in the box of sex tools Philippe had given Lorraine for a wedding present.

The phone stopped ringing momentarily but started up again. It was Lorraine who finally responded to the irritating sound. He opened his eyes forgetting where and when he was. The one thing he was sure of was the comfort of a naked Philippe wrapped around his naked body. But what was that infernal noise? And this wasn’t his bedroom in Paris. Then he saw the window and the breath-taking ocean view, and he remembered. He and Philippe were in Greece on their honeymoon. And that noise was the phone ringing—then it came to him. It was the wake-up call they had requested! He untangled himself from Philippe’s embrace and fumbled for the phone.

The voice on the other end told him, “Sir, we are calling as you asked us to tell you it is one o’clock in the afternoon—actually, one fifteen since it took you a while to answer our call. Is there anything we can get for you?”

He managed to garble out, “No, thank you. The call was enough.” The voice on the other end bid him good day and he hung up. He collapsed back on the bed by Philippe. Somehow, eight hours of sleep did not seem enough. Then he realized, it didn’t matter, they were on their honeymoon. They could sleep as late as they wanted. They had no schedule, no meetings. He settled back into Philippe’s embrace and closed his eyes. Then he remembered their scheduled rendezvous with the young man who had attended them upon their arrival here early this morning. Damn Philippe and his dalliances. He had no desire to be laying in bed when the young man arrived. That would only play into Philippe’s desire for a menage de trois. He had to find out what scheme Egan was going to use to squeeze money out of them.

Lorraine rolled over and faced Philippe. He shook him gently and waited for a response. It was always smart to wake Philippe gently. Philippe stirred and mumbled. Lorraine whispered in his ear, “Wake up love,” then kissed him gently on the cheek.

Philippe opened his eyes and mumbled, “What? What is going on?” looking around him in confusion.

“Remember love, we are in Greece on our honeymoon. It’s almost one thirty in the afternoon and we need to shower and dress and get something to eat before your friend, Egan, comes at three.”

Philippe frowned and asked, “Egan?”

“Yes, that young man _you_ invited to join us in a menage a trois this afternoon.”

“Oh, yeah, Egan.” Philippe made a half-hearted attempt at a stretch and rolled onto his back.

Lorraine reached over and put his hand on Philippe’s face and stroked it. He then began moving his hand slowly down Philippe’s naked body. “We need to take a shower, love. Remember, we planned on making our first one here … special.” His hand stopped just below Philippe’s belly button and rested lightly. “But if you want to sleep, I will go shower by myself.” Lorraine went to remove his hand, but Philippe grabbed it. Yes, he had Philippe’s attention now.

“Don’t start something you don’t intend on finishing.” Philippe pushed Lorraine’s hand lower.  His meaning was clear.

Lorraine twirled his fingers in the hair below Philippe’s belly button, teasing. “I want to thank you again for that lovely box of tools. We had a pretty good start to our stay here, didn’t we?” He was pushing Philippe, trying to get a reaction from him. Lorraine ran his fingertips in a circle on Philippe’s belly.

Philippe finally responded by flipping onto his side and then moving his body partially on top of Lorraine, pulling Lorraine’s face to his and kissing him, long and hard. “You should know better than to tease me in the mornings, Chevalier,” Philippe said as he held his face close to Lorraine’s, lips almost touching.

Lorraine answered, “But love, it is not morning, it is afternoon and we need that shower, soon.”

Philippe’s response was to join his lips to Lorraine’s again in another passion-stirring kiss. “And that, my dear Chevalier, is my afternoon kiss.” Philippe’s hand caressed its way down the side of Lorraine’s naked body, reached his hip bone, flattened out and moved inward to grasp Lorraine’s cock. “And what shall we do about this?”

Lorraine groaned and said, “Let’s take this to the shower, love.”

Philippe kissed Lorraine again, then rolled off him to sit on the edge of the bed. “Don’t just lay there, come on. I’ve got work to do.” Philippe took Lorraine’s hand and pulled him up. When they were both standing, Lorraine looked down and said, “And I think I have some work to do myself.” They walked, arms around each other into the bathroom.

“Look, it can be a steam shower, too!” Lorraine said. “Do you want steam or not?”

“No steam, today. Let’s just get in and get started.”

Lorraine smiled coyly, “Oh, I think we have already started.” He adjusted the water until it was the right temperature. They both stepped into the shower and Lorraine was in the middle of saying, “Who should go—” when Philippe pushed him against the wall of the shower and slid down to his knees. “—first. Well, okay.” Lorraine moaned as Philippe wrapped his lips around the head of his cock. All thought of time or place left Lorraine as he succumbed to Philippe’s expert lips and mouth. Release was blissful and satisfying.  

Philippe slowly stood and kissed Lorraine as the water flowed over their naked bodies—tiny little fingers massaging their bodies. Lorraine put his arms around Philippe and gently turned him until his back was against the wall. Always the tease, Lorraine kissed and sucked his way down Philippe’s naked wet, body. Always impatient, Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s head and guided it to his cock. Still Lorraine teased. He licked and kissed the head of Philippe’s cock.

“Chevalier, please, no more teasing,” Philippe pleaded.

With a smile, Lorraine finally gave Philippe what he wanted. Philippe’s release was a loud one that echoed within the walls of the shower. Philippe pulled Lorraine up and kissed him softly. He whispered afterwards, “Why do you always have to tease me so?”

“Because I want you to beg for it. I need to know that you need me.”

“My dear sweet, Chevalier, you should know that already.”

“I know it. I just need to hear you say it.”

“My brother told me many, many years ago that you were my weakness. In truth, he was wrong. You are my strength. With you, I can accomplish anything. Without you, I am nothing.” They kissed again.

Finally, they got down to the job of washing their bodies. Afterwards, they dried each other off and dressed.

“Shall we go check out the Captain’s Lounge? I am famished,” Lorraine told Philippe.

“We should tell the front desk if Egan comes, to send him to join us in the lounge.”

“Oh yes. Egan. That would be the considerate thing to do. Wouldn’t want him to show up and leave, would we?”

Philippe gave Lorraine a wry look without answering.

They went down the path to the Captain’s Lounge. There was a nice outside seating area, but it was hot outside despite the breeze. “I guess we need to get up in time for breakfast to enjoy the outside area and that view.” The menu was also ala carte and Lorraine really wanted  a full meal. He suggested they check out the Charisma Restaurant.

They walked to the Charisma Restaurant and decided it was what they wanted. They were shown to a table and given menus.

Lorraine asked, “They have a Spanakopita appetizer, shall we get that?”

“What’s that?”

“It says here it is crispy phyllo dough filled with spinach and cheese with a tomato and cucumber garnish.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“What do we want to drink?” asked Lorraine.

“Wine? They have a nice selection of the Santorini wines.”

“I don’t really want wine right now. I think I’ll have some of this pomegranate lemonade.”

“Whine, whine, whine—that’s whine with an ‘h’! Go ahead and have your lemonade, I’m going to have wine.”

“You are not going to order a whole bottle, are you? You can’t drink that by yourself without getting drunk.”

“You could help me. Besides what’s wrong with getting drunk? We’re on holiday, aren’t we?”

“Just order a couple of glasses. That way you can sample a couple of different types.”

“Okay. That’s a good idea,” Philippe finally decided. 

Lorraine sighed. Sometimes handling Philippe was more work than he wanted to do.

Philippe settled on Lamb Gyros while Lorraine chose Moussaka.

The appetizer came and was a hit. Philippe could not get over how good all the tomatoes were. They were fresh and ripe, bursting with flavor. The Lamb Gyros had strips of slow-cooked lamb in grilled pita bread served with Tzatziki (a yoghurt-cucumber sauce), and tomatoes, cucumbers, and olives drizzled with olive oil. Lorraine’s moussaka contained minced lamb, baby white eggplants, tomatoes, and onions in a creamy sauce and was delectable. For dessert they decided to order one walnut baklava and split it.

Philippe was finishing off his third glass of wine and groaning about how full he was. “Maybe it’s good that these clothes are loose. I don’t know that I could fit into my jeans right now.”

“Yes, that was good, and it is a good thing we don’t eat this well all the time. Oh god, don’t look now but here comes your little friend.”

Philippe turned and saw Egan and waved at him to come on over. Soon he was seated at the table. Philippe asked if he wanted something to eat and he declined saying he had had a big lunch earlier.

“Shall we get a bottle of wine, then? Or do we want to go back to the room and order some wine there?”

Lorraine did not know what to say. He feared an argument was brewing and he was trying to figure out the best way to avoid it. Should he just shut up and let Philippe have his way even if it meant he would feel hurt by it? Maybe he was letting jealousy get to him. What would it matter if the two of them used Egan as a willing third party? The one thing he felt he couldn’t do without causing a row, was talk Philippe out of it. He didn’t want to cause a fight that might affect the rest of their honeymoon.

He answered, “What do you want to do, Philippe? I really don’t care.”

“If we go back to the room and I order wine, will you drink it?”

Lorraine answered, “Yes.” He knew he would need some wine to get through this.

“Then let’s go!”

They settled the bill and headed for the room with Philippe carrying on an animated conversation with Egan about how he must be in great shape having to go up and down the stairs and steep paths. Egan mentioned that as a child he had helped his dad herd the flock of sheep they had. That had entailed a lot of walking in rough terrain.

They got to the room and Philippe ordered the wine. “Egan, you should see the gift I got for Lorraine.” Philippe got the box and then said, “You don’t mind if I show this to Egan, do you, love?”

“No, sure go ahead.”

Philippe opened the box and showed it to Egan.

“Is this what I think it is?” Egan asked as he studied the contents.

“If you are thinking it is a box of sex tools, then you would be right. We used them last night on each other and let me say, it was fantastic.”

Egan looked a little worried. “So, you two are into S & M?”

Philippe quickly answered, “Oh, god no. These things just enhance your senses. Wearing the mask, you don’t know what is going to happen next—that adds suspense. Then without your eyes, you have to figure out things through touch, mainly.”

“Then what is that nasty-looking whip used for?”

Lorraine could see an out in this situation if he could scare Egan away. “It’s used to whip asses to stimulate them. This gives an electric shock. A well-whipped and stimulated ass adds to the sexual pleasure. Especially when you are tied up and can’t see. You are then controlled by the will of your partner. A little pain adds to the sexual pleasure. Certainly, you have had partners who have spanked you until you cried? The sex after that is amazing.”

“No, I have not. It does not sound like that much fun to me.”

“Philippe and I can show you. We can tie you up and put the mask on—take away your sight and your control. Then we can subject you to various stimulations—this vial of oil is called ‘stimulating’. Rub it on certain body parts and it will cause that part to throb and tingle like you have never felt before. Just imagine it! Philippe had me howling last night. It’s a good thing we have lots of privacy here. No one can hear you screaming.”

Lorraine moved close to Egan and stroked his face. “Such soft fine skin. I bet your ass has soft fine skin, too. Just perfect for stimulation. Lorraine grabbed his ass with both hands. “Oh, yes. Nice firm ass, too. Philippe and I love young, firm asses.”

Philippe was misreading Lorraine and thinking he was into this menage de trois situation after all. He joined Lorraine and reached his hand out to touch Egan’s face and ran his fingers over his lips. “You have nice soft lips. I can think of things I’d like you to do for me with them.”

Egan was now thoroughly spooked. “Look, I came to tell you, my uncle needs me to help this afternoon on his fishing boat. I really hate to disappoint you, but I need to leave. He’s waiting on me. As much as I would like to experiment sexually with you, I’m going to be busy for the next week and half. I wanted to tell you in person and not just leave a message.” Egan was stepping backwards towards the door as he spoke.

Lorraine was smiling inside. Philippe looked crestfallen.

“I’ll see you guys around the hotel when I’m working. Bye.” He had the door open and was out of it in a flash.

“Wonder what got into him? What a real killjoy. Well, there goes our afternoon.”

“Philippe, there is a lot to do here. We could talk to the concierge and see if he has any suggestions. Remember tomorrow night we have our reservation for the Secret Restaurant in the cave. That’s when you are going to wear your dress, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes, it is! Why don’t you call the concierge then and see what he has to offer us?”

Lorraine called and talked to the concierge who told them about an art gallery not too far away. It featured the work of well-known Greek artists and even had jewelry for sale.

“Didn’t you want to find a necklace to go with your dress? They have akoya pearls and turquoise and various other stones. He said he could get us a guide to take us there and show us around.”

That hooked Philippe. They asked that the wine Philippe had ordered be kept cold for them until the evening. Then they were off with their guide. Oia was a beautiful village with white-washed buildings clinging to the cliffs. Cobblestone paths wound through the houses and buildings.  Bright flowers in pink and yellow added their accents to the mainly blue and white architecture. While the sun beat down, there were cool sea breezes. Many of the paths were in the shade. Philippe was glad for the loose clothing which allowed the sea breezes to cool their skin. They walked as a couple with an arm around the other’s waist.

When they reached the art gallery, they were awed by the artwork. Of course, living in such a beautiful place, many of the paintings were of the architecture of the village. The white-washed smooth, rounded edges of the buildings cast shadows in the pure, bright sunlight that artists loved to paint in glowing colors. It was amazing the colors that could be found in the shadows of white-washed buildings. It was the jewelry—specifically the necklaces—that drew Philippe’s attention, although there were some magnificent rings, too. But with their new ruby rings and gold bands, neither of them was interested in new rings now. Philippe wanted a pearl necklace to go with his new purple evening gown. Most of the necklaces, while quite beautiful, were more than he wanted to spend. Their guide, Niko, noticed that Philippe was looking at jewelry and walked over to him. He said there were many jewelry stores in Oia and he knew of several that offered reasonable prices and had quality work.

They left the gallery to go visit the stores Niko told them about. At the second store they visited, Philippe found his necklace. It was a single strand of akoya pearls that ended in a tear drop shaped polished amethyst. Two round polished amethysts nestled in with the pearls on both sides of the strand. It was simple but that allowed the beauty of the pearls and amethyst to stand out. Lorraine smiled at Philippe’s excitement. He loved indulging Philippe in fashion matters because it was one of the few times Philippe allowed himself to show pure joy.

Philippe was now in high spirits and did not once complain about the steep paths or the heat. He marveled at the beautiful flowering vines that clung to arbors and provided shade for passersby. He made sure that he and Lorraine stopped for rest at certain places that had good views of the ocean. There they tried to guess the kind of ships and boats they could see on the ocean. When they got back to the villa, Philippe even wanted to go for a dip in their private pool. They decided to try an ouzito (like a mojito but using ouzo) so Philippe ordered two from room service. Lorraine changed into his swim suit while Philippe handled the room service order. Then Philippe went in to change. He came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. They went outside with their drinks and sat them on the side of the pool. Lorraine walked down the steps in the pool and turned to see what Philippe was doing. He saw Philippe removing his towel and realized he had nothing on underneath.

“Philippe, couldn’t you find your swim suit?”   

“No, I didn’t want to wear one. We have privacy up here. No one can see us.”

“The people in the boats can.”

“Those boats are so far away we can barely see the people on them, then no one in a boat is going to be able to see my cock.”

“They could have binoculars.”

“I don’t care. They would have to have a very powerful set of binoculars to see anything important. I’m on vacation, I don’t want to wear a swim suit, so I am not.” Philippe jumped into the pool splashing Lorraine and going underwater. He came up as Lorraine was wiping the water from his face. Philippe came up to him saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, did I get you wet?”

Lorraine was about to answer, “Yes,” when Philippe jumped him pushing him underwater.  He came up spluttering and Philippe helped him wipe the water from his face, then kissed him.

“Don’t be mad, love.” Then Philippe went over to his drink and took a big swig. “Not bad! Come on over and get your drink. I promise I won’t dunk you again.”

Lorraine half swam, half walked to the side of the pool. He got his drink and settled in next to Philippe. Philippe put his arm around him and hugged him. Lorraine said, “You know, you can be annoying at times.”

“Yes, I know.”

“So, you are not going to apologize?”

“I have nothing to apologize for. You are in a pool. You know you are going to get wet in a pool. I just took care of the inevitable. Now kiss me and tell me how much you love me.”

Philippe kissed Lorraine, after which Lorraine said, “Yes, I love you forever, love—and that includes every annoying thought in your devious mind.” They took another sip of their drink then kissed—an anise flavored kiss. They continued alternating sipping their drink and kissing. Philippe had told room service to send another drink in twenty minutes and right on cue, the server appeared with a fresh drink. The timing was perfect because they had just finished their first one. The server asked if they would want another drink in twenty minutes, but Philippe told him no thanks.

They returned to their kissing and drinking. Philippe had Lorraine with his back to the pool and was starting to press against him. As they kissed, Philippe’s hands slid down Lorraine’s body to the top of his swim suit and tugged. “I told you, you don’t need these.’ Philippe ducked underwater to pull the trunks completely off. He popped back up and threw the suit onto the deck. “Now, doesn’t that feel better, free floating in the water?”

“Yes, it is quite freeing.”

“The way I see it we have two options. We can fuck in the water or suck off on the deck chairs.”

“Or we could go into our room and do whichever.”

“We paid a lot of money, so we could have privacy. I think I want to fuck you under this big beautiful blue sky!”

“But we can’t use oil in the water.”

“We’ll just take it slow and the water will help. Now turn around.” Philippe pushed Lorraine around, pushed his wet hair from his neck and kissed him softly on the neck. His hands slid down Lorraine’s back to his buttocks. He grasped a buttock in each hand and massaged them. “God, I love the feel of your ass in my hands. I’d kiss your butt cheeks, but I’d drown in the process.”

“Can’t have that. Whoa! Easy there.” Philippe had slipped a finger into Lorraine’s hole.

“How are you feeling, love?” Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear.

“Good, so far.” Lorraine could feel the head of Philippe’s cock  pushing on him. He moaned when it penetrated him.

“Okay, love?”

“Yes.”

Philippe took it very slow. The resistance of the water slowed him down, too. The water sloshed around them. The sun beat down on the parts of their bodies that were out of water, but the parts underwater stayed cool, creating a dichotomy of competing sensations. There was a feeling of weightlessness. Birds were chirping. His mind wandered to the things around him while he could feel very intensely the blood building in his cock. He felt the nerve endings come to life. It was as if the birds were chirping in rhythm with his thrusting. He heard himself grunting and Lorraine making small murmuring sounds. It felt like a wheel spinning, faster and faster. He heard himself breathing hard, his heart beating out of his chest. The need built in him so strong it hurt. Then it all exploded, in his head, in his body. He thought he heard the birds scream, then realized it was his own voice. He was screaming as he made his final thrusts shooting his seed into Lorraine who was moaning loudly.

He was totally spent and leaned against Lorraine to keep from sinking to the bottom of the pool. He was trying to catch his breath, sucking in air as his heart beat thundered in his ears. Then he realized Lorraine was frantically calling his name, “Philippe! Philippe! Are you okay?” Lorraine was struggling. Philippe had him pinned against the side of the swimming pool. He rolled off Lorraine and rested with his own back against the side of the pool. Lorraine moved through the water to face him, taking Philippe’s face in his hands. “Oh, love, what happened. You screamed!”

Philippe smiled and said, “That was fucking awesome!”

“You’re delirious. You must be having heat stroke. Come on, get out of this pool. You need to get inside where it’s cool.”

“I’m fine. Didn’t you feel it? Was it good for you?”

“Oh, it was awesome, until you screamed.” Lorraine was pushing Philippe towards the steps. “You scared me to death with that scream. Is, is your cock okay? Did you hurt it or something? Is that why you screamed?”

“My cock is fine. Great, in fact.” Lorraine was now pushing Philippe up the steps. Philippe went over to get the drinks. “Can’t leave these out here.”

“I don’t think you need any more alcohol right now.”

Lorraine finally got Philippe inside and had him sit on the edge of the bed while he dried him off with a towel. “I’m going to call the hotel doctor. Here, put on this robe.” Lorraine had put on some pants.

“I don’t need a doctor; I feel fine.”

Lorraine ignored him and dialed the front desk and asked for the hotel doctor. He sat holding Philippe’s hand until the doctor got there. When the doctor arrived, he asked what the problem was.

Lorraine insisted on talking first. “We were outside in the pool. We’d drank about one and a half ouzitos and were in the water when Philippe and I started having sex. He, uh, was uh, taking me from behind and everything was going very well, when he screamed. He collapsed on me and was breathing very hard. His heart was beating very fast, too. I was afraid he was having heat stroke, so I brought him in here and called you.”

“And you, sir. Is what he said an accurate description of what happened?”

“For the most part, yes. But I didn’t scream because I was hurt, I screamed because the sex was very, very, very good—and my orgasm was so good it made me scream. I was breathing heavy and my heart was pounding because of the intense sex. I feel fine now.”

“Okay. Let me take your vitals. You don’t feel sweaty or clammy. That’s good. Hmm. Heart rate’s a little elevated, but not much. Breathing seems fine. Eyes look clear and focused. Repeat after me: giraffe, crocus, elementary.”

Philippe repeated the words back perfectly.

Lorraine interjected. “Maybe you should check his penis. We weren’t using oil… maybe it didn’t slide right and, well, got bent?”

“Okay, if you think I should. Please open your robe so I can observe it. Does it hurt?”

Philippe did as he was asked, giving Lorraine a sharp look.  He looked very perturbed. “As I said, it is fine.”

The doctor looked at it from the front then from each side. “Hmm, it looks a little swollen.”

“That’s because we just had sex not too long ago. It’s still throbbing a little from the orgasm.”

“I don’t see any bruising or purpling. Would you mind moving it around a little—do a little wave with it.”

“A little what? This is ridiculous. Okay, okay, here goes.” He put his hand on his cock. “Now wave to the good doctor!” and waved his cock around. “See? All is good. Now is there any other trick you’d like my cock or me to do? We have a dinner reservation.”

“No, I think maybe it was the result of alcohol, combined with the heat and the strenuous activity that maybe made you faint or disoriented. Everything else looks good and you seem fine now.  Maybe avoid strenuous exercise out in the heat. If you have any more problems or symptoms, please call me. Have a good dinner.”

As soon as the doctor closed the door, Lorraine rushed over to Philippe and started fawning over him. “I am so glad you are okay! You gave me quite a—”

He was shut down by Philippe’s angry “STOP!”

Lorraine had that guilty, sheepish look. “What did I do? I was just worried about you after you screeched like that.”

“We—or at least I was having some of the best sex I had ever had, and you had to ruin it all by calling a doctor because I screamed? You screamed the other night and I didn’t call a doctor on you.”

“I was worried because we weren’t using oil, that somehow you had injured, you know, your cock. I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Please forgive me, mignonette.” Lorraine ran his finger up Philippe’s arm. “You know how much I care for your well-being.” He gave Philippe the saddest, sorrowful look he could muster.

“Really, you weren’t feeling how good the sex was?”

“Oh, it felt great, but you know it isn’t quite the same for the person receiving as it is for the person giving. And you weren’t paying my own cock much attention at the time.”

“Because I had planned to let you do the same to me after I got finished. I thought that was what we both thought was going to happen.”

“Yes, but you screamed. I didn’t know what to think. You scared me. Remember when you hurt my cock that time? I flashed back to that pain and thought that’s what you were feeling.”

Philippe’s anger had subsided. Who could be angry at that sad, sorrowful face? Damn the Chevalier knew how to play him like a fiddle. “We’d better get ready for our dinner reservation. We don’t want to be late.”

“You could wear your dress, if you wanted.”

“No, I want to save if for tomorrow night when we go to that cave restaurant. The dress may be too fancy to wear to the Charisma. I wouldn’t want to look out of place.”

Philippe told himself that later he would explain to Lorraine all those special, magical feelings he was having out in the pool. There really was something special about this place and he hoped Lorraine would get to feel it, too, before they left.

 


	43. Greek Magic Continues Into the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe go to their first dinner in Oia, Greece and meet a couple of ladies with dubious motives. Later they enjoy a magical evening in their private pool.

They dressed for the very first dinner reservation of their honeymoon in Oia with Philippe wearing the ocean blue top with the silver thread embroidery. The blue of the shirt enhanced the blue of his eyes. Lorraine wore a dark blue, almost purple, shirt that also enhanced his eyes. It showed off his lustrous blonde hair very well.

Philippe took one look at Lorraine and quipped, “You look incredibly handsome tonight. Almost makes me want to forget about dinner, but I'm starved. I’ll have to wait and show you just what your incredible looks makes me want to do to you after dinner.”

Lorraine looked at Philippe and answered, “You look very handsome, too, love. I won’t be able to look away from those beautiful eyes of yours tonight.”

They kissed then set off, hand in hand, down the path to the restaurant. Their lunch had been very good, but there were so many interesting foods on the menu that they couldn’t wait for another meal there. The air was still hot, but a good breeze blew in from the ocean. They could hear the cries of seagulls off somewhere down on the beach. They could smell and taste the salt in the air. Overhead, a sky resplendent with stars shone down on them while the warm lights of Oia shone from the houses clinging to the cliffs. They could hear the occasional clang of a ship’s bell or the bellow of a larger ship. The night teased all their senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, touch. It was exhilarating and magical.

Lorraine leaned in and said to Philippe, “It almost feels like we could reach up and touch those stars!”

“It’s no wonder ancient people thought the stars were gods and mythical creatures. You know, today, when I screamed, it was because it almost felt as if some god had reached down and touched me. Loving you is like that. I think I have reached the peak of my feelings only to discover there is more.” Philippe leaned over and brushed his lips against Lorraine’s cheek.

“And I had to go and spoil it all for you. Sorry, love.”

“It is okay. I can see how you were worried. I love how you worry and take care of me.”

They had reached the restaurant and stopped to exchange a kiss before going in. Philippe said huskily after the kiss, “After we get back to the villa tonight, I will try and help you feel the gods, my love.”

Soon, they were seated at their table deciding on a wine. “Shall we get the Gaia Santorini Wild Ferment Assyrtiko?” asked Philippe.

Lorraine answered, “That’s quite a long name for a wine, but if that is what you want, then, yes. They all look good to me!”

When Philippe ordered the wine, their server smiled and said, “Very good choice. You, sir, know your wines.”

After he left, Lorraine leaned over and said, “You know, he just said that to flatter you in the hopes of getting a good tip.”

“Whatever. You will see, this will be a grand wine.”

“Of course, it will be, love.”

Philippe said, “I think I want a Santorini salad for my appetizer. Then I want to try some of these ntomatokeftedes and this brandade of salt cod. What about you?”

“Hmm. I think I want the Poulia Yemista for my appetizer, and the Fava me Kokia and the Atherinopita.”

_Santorini salad=rusks, chlorotyri (fresh cheese), tomatoes, capers and caper leaves_

_ntomatokeftedes=tomato “meat”balls_

_brandade of salt cod=desalted pieces of cod fried, sauced with skordalia (garlic sauce) mixed with  tomato paste and baked_

_Poulia Yemista (stuffed “birds”)=courgette (a summer squash) flowers stuffed with rice, onion, tomato, mint, grated courgette, parsley  
   and spices_

_Fava me Kokia=mashed up fava beans (a staple in Santorini)_

_Atherinopita=a “pie” of tiny fish fried with onions and flour_

“What about dessert? I think I want Saganaki. Maybe we should try a dessert wine, too. The Vinsanto Trygos 2005 looked interesting.”

“Well, I want the Santorini pudding. We are going to be stuffed again. Are you sure you want a wine with dessert? Remember we have chilled wine waiting for us back at the Villa.”

“Yes, I want dessert wine. We only get one honeymoon and I want to enjoy it to the fullest.”

_Saganaki=fried cheese in phyllo pastry covered in honey_

_Santorini pudding=eggs, milk, semolina, and chocolate served with a sauce of sweet Vinsanto wine_

“We will just have to work it off with some vigorous exercise then.” Lorraine smiled slyly at Philippe, took his hand, and brought it up to his lips for a soft kiss.

Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine softly on the forehead. “Yes, we will love.”

The waiter came to take their order after which another brought their wine and went through the opening ritual. Philippe approved of the wine and the wine was poured into their two glasses. Lorraine sipped the wine and said, “Yes, this is good. Another great choice, love.”

A short while later their appetizers came. They each gave the other a bite to sample.

“Oh, those fried blossoms are very good!” Philippe said. “Nice choice. My salad is good, too. The vegetables are so fresh and flavorful here.”

At that time another waiter stopped at their table with a tray with two shot glasses.

Philippe was about to say, “We didn’t order shots,” when the waiter said, “Ouzo, compliments of those two women over there.” Both Philippe and Lorraine turned to look to see two beautiful women waving at them.

Lorraine said, “How are we going to let them know they are barking up the wrong tree?”

“Easy. Follow my lead.”

Philippe picked up the shot glass and turned to salute the girls with Lorraine following suit. He downed the ouzo then he grabbed Lorraine and gave him a passionate kiss. They both smiled at the girls and shrugged as if to say, “Sorry.” To their surprise, the girls returned the toast with their own ouzo shots and then kissed each other passionately.

Lorraine said, “What now?”

Philippe answered with, “I don’t know. I’m confused. Oh god, they are coming over here.”

The girls walked over while Philippe and Lorraine shifted nervously in their seats, a fake, confused smile on their faces.

The tall, blonde one leaned over and said in a decidedly French accent, “We just wanted to wish you two a happy honeymoon.”

Philippe asked, “Have we met before? I’m sorry I am not remembering.”

The gorgeous redhead answered, “Oh, you don’t know us, but we know about you. You are the gentlemen who reserved the room we wanted—the Mystery Villa. According to the staff, we missed out by a couple of hours.”

“Oh, so sorry. We had no idea.”

“It’s okay. We did get one of the Secrecy Villas and it is very nice. When we heard you were newlyweds, we wanted to treat you to a couple of shots of ouzo.”

“Thank you, that was very kind. Is it your honeymoon, too?” Philippe asked.

The blonde answered, “No, it is our third anniversary. The minute they made it legal for us to get married, we did.”

The redhead broke in, “Forgive me, but I just have to say, that when I heard that Philippe duc d’Orleans was one of the two men who reserved the room, I was blown away. I have followed your musical career for quite a while. It is an honor to meet you.”

Both Lorraine and Philippe breathed a sigh of relief. For a second, they both thought it was someone else reincarnated from Versailles. Philippe answered, “It is always wonderful to meet a fan. Are you familiar with Philippe Lorraine, my husband? He is a very well-known fashion designer in Paris. He’s known internationally and has his own fashion house, House of Lorraine.”

“Sorry, we don’t really follow high fashion, but we are honored to meet you Mr. Lorraine. I must say, you both look strikingly handsome tonight. Did you design these clothes, Mr. Lorraine?”

“Yes, I did, thank you. And what are your names?”

The red-head said, “My name is Karen, and this is Margie. We own a gift shop in Paris. We feature all high-end, hand-made items.”

Philippe said, “We will have to check it out when we get back. Would you two care to join us?”

“Oh, we couldn’t intrude.”

“I insist.” He waved to the waiter. “These two women will be joining us.”

Lorraine shot Philippe a confused look. He wasn’t sure about this whole thing, but the two women seemed nice enough. The waitstaff took the steps to get the women settled in with Philippe and Lorraine. Talk turned to the food they all had ordered then moved to Philippe’s impending new album. Lorraine was disappointed that he and Philippe weren’t enjoying their quiet, romantic supper together, but Philippe was enjoying the adoration of two fans of his music and enjoying the conversation that seemed to center around him. Lorraine chided himself for being so jealous of his time with Philippe.

The women had their own wine, but Philippe insisted on them sharing the dessert wine. Then Philippe invited the two women to come back to the villa, so they could check it out. Lorraine thought that was going too far, but kept his mouth shut. Hopefully, the women would take a quick look around and leave.

On the walk back to the villa, Lorraine put his arm around Philippe and snuggled up to him. He said, “I am so looking forward to being alone with you tonight.”

“Don’t worry, when our guests leave, we will have the night I promised you.”

“Don’t let it be too late, love. It’s been a long day.”

On the way, Karen pointed out which of the Secrecy Villas was theirs. “We have a fantastic view,” she added.

When they got to the villa, Philippe called and ordered another bottle of wine. Then he offered the two women some of the wine that had been waiting for them. Lorraine tried not to look peeved. Philippe was enjoying showing his guests around. “And that is our pool. It is a very magical place.” He grinned at Lorraine who smiled back but was wondering when this was going to end.

“Could we go out and see the view?” Margie asked.

Philippe gladly opened the sliding door and took them all outside. The night air was still very warm but again the breeze made it pleasant. The view was equally breathtaking at night as it was during the day. Karen saw Philippe take the last sip of his wine and offered, “Philippe, please let me refill your wine. How about you Lorraine? Let me add some to your glass.” She took both their glasses and went inside. Margie kept them occupied with various questions until Karen came back with the glasses filled.

“What made you settle on Greece for a honeymoon?” asked Karen.

Philippe answered, “Many factors really. My travel agent sent us a ton of pamphlets on many places. We narrowed it down to the best sounding places of which Greece was a top contender. Who could resist those images of the blue sky and that beautiful ocean.”

Lorraine added, “And there is all the history and legend here. Ancient Greece gave the world so many treasures. The culture is so extraordinary.”

“We looked at the places that had the things we were wanting. My one desire was for us to find a place where we could have beautiful scenery and privacy.” He hugged Lorraine and kissed his cheek. “I wanted a place where we could enjoy each other’s company, under this beautiful sky, in private, if you understand what I mean.”

Karen in turn put her arm around Margie. “Yes, I know exactly what you mean. The sex here is extraordinary.”

“Brilliant minds think alike!” Philippe declared, and they all laughed.

Room service rang the bell and delivered the next bottle of wine. Philippe informed the attendant to order another bottle of wine for later. Then he turned and said, “Let’s all have some more wine!’ Neither of the girls protested, so Philippe opened the bottle and poured. Lorraine tried to keep the disappointment from his face. He had barely taken a sip from the last glass, but Philippe had finished his off quickly and was pouring another. Lorraine noticed the two women looking at each other and smiling. Something about the way they looked at each other made him uncomfortable. It was as if they had a secret to share. He told himself he was being ridiculous. It was his jealousy raising its ugly head again.

A little while later, Lorraine noticed that Philippe seemed to be getting drunk. They had had a decent amount of wine that night, but Philippe usually held his liquor better than he was tonight. Lorraine was still nursing the first glass that Karen had poured for him. He just wasn’t in the mood for drinking now. Besides, the women were also acting drunk and were putting their hands all over Philippe. That made Lorraine very uncomfortable, but he knew it was his jealousy again.  He knew Philippe was not the least bit interested in women. But Philippe was acting very drunk and there was something strange about his actions that Lorraine could not quite understand. Philippe had an arm around both women and appeared to be flirting. But then, the next minute he let go of the two women and came over to Lorraine. He grabbed Lorraine and gave him a passionate kiss, pressing his body against him. Lorraine could feel his hard cock through the thin clothing.

“Good,” Lorraine thought, “Philippe will be getting rid of these women any minute now.”

Then Karen asked, “Philippe, will you show me where the restroom is. I seem to have forgotten.”

Alarm bells went off in Lorraine’s head, but Margie had come up and was pouring more wine in his glass. “You should drink up, Lorraine. You are falling behind the rest of us.” She handed the glass back to him, put her arm around his waist, and turned them both to look at the view out their sliding door to the balcony. “That view is so beautiful.”

Lorraine tried to politely disengage but she was leaning very hard on him and he was really the only thing keeping her upright. She appeared very drunk. Lorraine said, “Maybe you and your friend should go to your villa now, while you can still walk.”

She ignored him and asked, “Have you ever been with a woman before, Lorraine?”

“I don’t see how that is any business of yours.”

“Ah-ha! You haven’t! Well, I’ve never been with a man before, so we have something in common. What about Philippe? Has he been with a woman before?”

“Again, I don’t see how that is your business.”

She ignored him and continued along her own train of thought, “Karen used to be married—to a man. It wasn’t a good marriage. She doesn’t like to talk about it.”

Lorraine tried to disengage himself from Margie, but she held on to him tightly. “Come on, finish your wine. You’ll feel better when you do.”

“I don’t want any more wine, thank you.” Then Lorraine heard laughter coming from the bedroom and his heart sank. Surely, he was wrong about what he was hearing. He wanted desperately to tear away from Margie but for some one drunk, she had a strong grip on him.

“Sounds like they are having fun in there. Why don’t we have some fun in here?” She tried to kiss him, but Lorraine pushed her away and managed to disengage himself from her other arm. He turned towards the bedroom but suddenly felt dizzy despite not having drank but a few sips of wine in the last hour or so. Why was he dizzy? He had not drunk enough wine to be even a small bit tipsy. Then he wondered. Had there been something in the wine? Why would these women put something in their wine?

He turned to Margie and demanded, “Did you put something in our wine?”

She just laughed and said, “Why would we drug you? Sounds like your husband doesn’t need any help in there. Obviously, he knows how to fuck a woman. That’s more than I can say about you.”

Lorraine desperately wanted to slap her but restrained himself. He pushed Margie out of the way and decided to go to the bedroom and confront what was going on in there. It was becoming painfully obvious what these women were after. When he walked into the room, he saw that Karen had pushed Philippe onto the bed and was undressing him. Karen turned to look at Lorraine and asked, “Do you want to be next when I am finished with him?”

Lorraine lost it and started yelling at her to get the hell out. She had the nerve to say, “Just hang on a minute. You don’t have to be so rude.”

“I said get the hell out.” Lorraine had never wanted to hit a woman so bad before in his life.

She stood up and rearranged her clothes, giving Lorraine a disdainful look. She strolled out of the room, Lorraine close behind to ensure the two of them left. Margie asked, “Did he ejaculate?”

Karen said, “Didn’t get that far. We were rudely interrupted.”

Lorraine demanded to know what they were talking about, but they ignored him and left. Lorraine went back into the bedroom and over to where Philippe was laying. Philippe saw Lorraine and said, “Why did you leave when we were barely getting started?”

Lorraine realized that whatever they put into the wine had really affected Philippe and he had no real idea of what was going on. Lorraine was so glad he had not drunk the glass of wine that Karen had filled inside the house while they were out on the balcony. He started to think about the night and things became clearer to him. There was only one reason why two gay women on their third anniversary would be interested in sleeping with men. They were looking to get pregnant. And Philippe, with his love of being the center of attention had fallen right into their plan. Thankfully, Lorraine had somehow kept his wits tonight and thwarted the plan.

He just couldn’t understand why would they stoop to something this low. They had to be well off if they could afford to come to Greece and book an expensive villa. Why not go through proper channels and find someone willing to donate sperm? He shook his head. It took all kinds in this world.

Philippe interrupted Lorraine's thoughts. Philippe had gotten out of bed and come over to Lorraine, putting his arms around Lorraine and kissing his neck. “Okay, love, why don’t you finish undressing me and let me undress you.” Philippe pressed against Lorraine with his hard cock. “I know I promised that it would be your turn to fuck me, but I don’t know what has gotten into me tonight. My cock has a mind of its own.”

Lorraine thought for a moment. It would be one thing to get Philippe drunk enough to get him into bed, but to get him to perform would have taken something like Viagra. The more he thought about what those women had almost done, the madder he got. But then he had an amorous and very aroused Philippe to deal with. He had no idea how long it took for Viagra to wear off, but he didn’t care at this point. Philippe had forgotten all about the women and he had his sights on Lorraine. Lorraine turned and kissed Philippe pushing him towards the bed, removing the rest of Philippe’s clothes as he did so. He may as well take advantage of the situation. Philippe in return, undressed Lorraine then pulled him in for a kiss. Lorraine started to kneel in front of Philippe, when Philippe stood up, put his arm around Lorraine and started to lead him out of the bedroom. Lorraine wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Where are we going, love?”

“To the pool. It’s your turn to experience what I did today.” Lorraine followed without protest.

Philippe led Lorraine down the steps into the water. The water was warm, holding in the day’s heat. Philippe leaned his back against the side of the pool and pulled Lorraine towards him. The kiss started out soft—Philippe’s lips softly pressed on Lorraine’s. Then he gently probed Lorraine’s lips with his tongue and the kiss grew more intense. Philippe’s hand slid down Lorraine’s body and found its target. Lorraine moaned as he felt himself responding to Philippe’s stimulation.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I’ve thought about this all day, my dear Chevalier.”

Between the kissing and the hand stimulation, Lorraine was responding very quickly.

“Be gentle with me, love,” Philippe said as he turned his back to Lorraine and leaned against the pool facing away from Lorraine. Lorraine kissed Philippe’s neck, then his mouth traveled across his back from one shoulder then back to the other, kissing and sucking. His right hand had moved down to Philippe’s ass and was fondling his buttock then found his target while his other hand wrapped around Philippe’s waist and pulled him close. Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s fingers moved to prepare him for penetration.

Philippe groaned as he murmured, “Love, I’m ready.”

The moonlight made Philippe’s naked skin glow ethereally white above the water line. In the water, his pale flesh reflected through the turquoise pool water, the reflections dancing like darting fairy nymphs. Philippe’s dark hair absorbed the light reflecting occasional streaks of light across the curls. The sound of far off laughter skimmed across the water and floated on the breeze. Lorraine looked up and saw the millions—trillions of stars twinkling in the dome of the night sky above. Even at night, the sky was blue—a dark velvety blue speckled by tiny points of light. There was a magic in the twinkling of the stars and a memory came to Lorraine that only the stars twinkled. Planets of the solar system did not twinkle. His mind tried to wrap around the millions, billions, and trillions of miles that would cause such a phenomenon—but his mind couldn’t fully comprehend distances of that magnitude. 

He kissed Philippe’s neck again and pushed himself gently into Philippe. Philippe moaned. Lorraine continued slowly pushing until he had reached full penetration. His hands stroked the soft skin of Philippe’s belly. Philippe leaned his head back and turned to indicate he wanted a kiss. Lorraine gave him a soft kiss then pushed his hair aside and kissed Philippe’s neck. He started slow thrusting with both hands upon Philippe’s hips because, with each thrust, he tended to drift away in the water. The hands helped him to hold on to Philippe as the water sloshed around them with every movement. The noise of water slapping against sides of the pool echoed sharply into the air around them. He heard Philippe making small grunting noises as Lorraine increased the intensity of this thrusting. His whole being now centered in the sensations of him moving inside Philippe, of Philippe’s soft skin hot under his fingertips and against his own skin. Above water, the breeze caressed his face and cooled the sweat on his forehead. As he felt that coolness, he also felt the heat flooding into and swelling his cock.

He reached around in the water, in front of Philippe’s hip, to find Philippe’s cock, still firm and floating in the water. He wrapped his hand around it and timed his hand strokes to his own thrusts, still holding Philippe to him with his other hand. Philippe was moaning and grunting in earnest now with the sloshing of the water now a fast staccato of sound. Lorraine felt a need so strong it threatened to overwhelm him as he continued thrusting with every muscle he could muster. He threw his head back and caught the quick glory of a shooting star streaking across the night sky. Seconds later he felt the absolute pleasure as his nerves all fired at once and his cock emptied its contents into Philippe. He heard a noise and realized it was emanating from his open mouth—it was a cry of pure ecstasy. Then he felt Philippe’s cock pulsing in his hand as Philippe moaned loudly. Philippe collapsed onto the side of the pool and Lorraine collapsed onto Philippe wrapping his arms tightly around him and laying his head on his back. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. His breathing was hard and made his chest ache. With his ear against Philippe’s back he could hear Philippe’s heart beating and feel his chest rising and falling.

“Love, you can let go of me now,” Philippe was saying. Lorraine released his grip and Philippe turned to face him, a smile on his face. He pulled Lorraine up to kiss him softly. “Now, do you agree with me that Greece is a very magical place?” he asked. All he got from Lorraine was a barely audible, “Yes.”     


	44. The Battle With Chiffon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night of intense love-making, Lorraine and Philippe take a boat ride to see the Red, Black and White sand Beaches of Santorini and walk on a volcano. In the evening, Philippe wears his purple chiffon dress to the Secret Cave Restaurant where he and Lorraine enjoy all the "amenities" of a private dining room.

Three hours and twenty minutes. That was how long it took for the Viagra to wear off. Under normal circumstances, Lorraine would have loved the stamina that Philippe had. It wasn’t that the Viagra made Philippe constantly hard, but that it only took the smallest amount of stimulation to get him going again. Lorraine would bring Philippe to release only to have Philippe insist on ensuring Lorraine got his share of the loving. That in turn set Philippe off again. Each time, it became more and more difficult for Lorraine to respond and took longer each time. Lorraine would have never guessed that he could think he and Philippe could have too much sex. But he did. Philippe finally fell asleep in Lorraine’s arms. Lorraine, himself, slept fitfully. He was full of anxiety. Should he tell Philippe what the women had tried to do? He couldn’t envision anything positive coming from the truth. Philippe would get angry. He would feel used. Lorraine had prevented the consummation of the women’s plans. He and Philippe had had a great evening. Why not just leave it at that?

He found himself awake at eight the next morning while Philippe was sleeping soundly. He decided to go talk to the hotel management. He wanted to find out exactly who those women were. He had an idea how to handle the situation without revealing sensitive information. He explained the encounter with the women sending them free shots of ouzo which prompted his partner to invite them to join them at the table. Afterwards, the women voiced an interest in a brief tour of the Mystery Villa they had missed out on booking. During that visit, Lorraine told the management that he suspected the women of spiking their wine with the purpose of robbing them, but how he had decided not to drink any more wine and escaped being drugged. His partner, however showed definite signs of having been drugged and was currently sleeping off the effects.

The management was horrified and immediately checked their records. “Sir, our records do not show any female couples in the Secrecy Villas. They are all heterosexual couples and certainly none of those women match your description. We couldn’t give you their information if we did find them, but we could give their names to the police. The best thing is to call the police and let them investigate this matter.”

“I appreciate your desire to protect the privacy of your residents. I am not sure there is a real need to involve the police since the women were not successful in whatever plans they had. I am only conjecturing that their plan was robbery and may be totally wrong. My partner and I would not want our honeymoon to be spoiled by the intrusion of an investigation. I don’t think it would be good publicity for your hotel either. I think it may be best to let the matter drop.”

“Yes, an investigation would be inconvenient for all parties involved. I will tell my staff to keep an eye out for the women you described.”

“Oh, I think those women are long gone by now. Thank you so much for taking the time to hear my concerns.”

“I am sorry more could not be done. We would like to comp you an evening meal at the Charisma. It will be put in your records so the next time you visit, the meal will be on us. Please enjoy.”

“Thank you so much. The food there is extremely good, and I am sure we will enjoy it.”

Lorraine was deep in thought on his way back to the villa. He should just let things stay the way they were. If he told Philippe the full truth of what had happened, what could Philippe do anyway that Lorraine wasn’t already doing? Lorraine could see no benefit in telling Philippe what had happened. The women had obviously lied about everything—even their booking a Secrecy Villa. When he got back to the villa, he was relieved to see Philippe was still sleeping. After removing his clothes, he crawled into bed beside Philippe and snuggled up next to him.

A little later their phone rang with their wakeup call. The concierge, at their request, had scheduled a private boat ride for them to view all the sights from the water. They had also scheduled a small brunch to be brought to their room before the boat ride. Lorraine answered the call, then proceeded to wake Philippe with a kiss on the cheek. Philippe stirred, and Lorraine whispered, “Time to get up love.”

Philippe opened his eyes and smiled at Lorraine. “That was one hell of a night, wasn’t it, love?”

“Yes, you had the stamina of a bull and I am so glad you are my bull.” Lorraine kissed him softly. “But, we have a busy and exciting day ahead of us. They will be bringing our brunch to us in a few minutes, then we have a boat ride. Tonight, is our reservation at the Secret Restaurant—the cave—where you are going to wear your gorgeous dress.”

Philippe smiled and was about to say something in reply when there was a knock at the door.

“That will be our brunch. I will go take care of it. You can join me when you are ready.” Lorraine got up and put on a robe, then went to the door. A few minutes later, Philippe, also dressed in a robe, joined him at the table where the food had been placed. Their meal consisted of freshly squeezed orange juice, small barley pancakes sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and drizzled with honey, and coffee.

Philippe said, “I am starving this morning, but I do have something of a headache.”

“I will get you some medication for that.” Lorraine went to the bathroom and brought back some pills for Philippe to take for his headache.

“Thank you, love. You take such good care of me. Whatever happened to those women who came back with us to the villa? I don’t seem to remember.”

“They took their look around and left.”

Philippe made a face. “It was fun to meet fans of mine and they seemed nice enough, but something just seemed wrong about them. Did you feel it?”

“No, but you are the one with the good instincts, not me. But they left and that was the end of it.”

“Well, if we run into them again, I don’t think I want to do much socializing with them. We can be polite about it, though.”

“I think they said something about leaving today.”

“Oh, that’s good, then. We don’t have to worry about it.”

“Agreed. I am excited for our boat ride. It’s going to be fun, I think.”

“Yes, it will be a chance to get to see some of the scenery up close. I understand that there are black sand and red sand beaches. That must be spectacular to see.”

They chatted on about the things they thought they might be seeing while they ate their breakfast. Soon they were on their way to the docks in their private car.

When they got out of the car, Lorraine said with a laugh, “Now, this smells a little fishy with all those boats over there unloading their catches.”

Philippe surprised him with, “Just a little. But it’s not the smell of dead, stinky fish—just fish freshly caught.” Philippe certainly was in good spirits.

They came to the slip where the deluxe catamaran they were to take was moored. They were helped into the beautiful boat and were introduced to their skipper, Anastas, a rather good-looking, tanned gentleman with a constant smile. They also met the crew, Amar, Castor, and Neo. Anastas told them, “We have several bottles of your preferred wine on ice. Just ask Neo and he will serve you. Let me show you to your seats.”

Anastas showed them to a set of nicely cushioned seats with great views on the top deck. “Neo will also explain to you about the sights you will be seeing and the events of the morning.” The captain went off to take control of the boat, shouting commands to ready the sails.

Neo explained that their first stop would be to the Red Beach on the southern end of the island . “You can swim, snorkel or just sunbathe on deck while we are there.”

Philippe responded with, “We don’t do much sunbathing. My skin burns easily.”

Lorraine interjected, “We might take a dip to cool off. Remember, Philippe, we brought plenty of sunscreen. I don’t mind putting it on you.” He stroked Philippe’s arm as he spoke.

Neo continued, “The next stop will be the hot springs at Nea Kamini after which we will head to the White Beach where you can again swim and snorkel. There is an abundance of beautiful fish and plants to view underwater. After that, we will serve you a lunch of grilled chicken and pork, a traditional Greek salad, a tasty pasta salad making use of our fresh vegetables, accompanied by fresh bread and followed by fresh fruit.”

Philippe responded with, “It sounds absolutely delightful. Thank you, Neo.”

At that the boat started moving out of the slip and away from shore. Once away from shore, the sails caught the wind and the ship lunged forward. The stiff breeze on their face was exhilarating as the boat skimmed the water. Philippe and Lorraine found it fascinating to watch the crew adjust the sails to keep the boat going in the direction they wanted.

The sun was shining brightly as it climbed the intense blue sky, warming the cool morning air. Philippe and Lorraine were sitting comfortably in their chairs, legs crossed and enjoying the ride. The boat passed by an area where a large group of gulls were diving into the water after small fish. Neo explained that there was probably a school of the smaller fish being chased by some other sea predator, possibly a school of larger fish, causing the small fish to jump out of the water in fear, becoming easy prey for the gulls.

Lorraine quipped, “Truly the sea is a fish eat fish and bird eat fish world, then.” Philippe gave him a sharp jab at the horrible joke.

As they got further from the shore, the crescent shape of the “island” became clearer. Neo pointed out that it was actually the top most wall of the caldera of the volcano.

Lorraine asked, “So beneath us, in this water is an actual volcano?”

“The remnants of a volcanic explosion—the volcanic crater is at that island ahead, Nea Kamini. We will pass it on our way to the beaches, then visit it on the way back. About 3600 years ago the largest recorded volcanic eruption occurred here. It was during the height of the Minoan civilization on Crete. The eruption left this caldera and may have been the source of inspiration for the legend of Atlantis.”

“So, there is a volcano _and_ a possible lost Civilization beneath us?” asked Philippe. “Amazing.”

“Never underestimate the power of Mother Nature,” remarked Lorraine.

Philippe quipped, “You are just full of meaningless platitudes today, aren’t you?”

“Is there any other kind of platitude?”

Philippe rolled his eyes and shook his head.

A short while later they reached the Red Beach which lived up to its name. When they first approached, they noticed that the beach was filled with people and umbrellas. Neo saw the disappointed look on their faces and said, “The skipper will take us to a deserted area of the beach. It is private, but he has permission to let his customers use it.” The boat circled around and found a nice quiet spot and dropped anchor a decent distance from shore.

Lorraine stood up and declared, “I think I feel like going for a dip! Come on Philippe. Let’s go together.” Lorraine took off his shirt and pants, revealing his emerald green Speedo swim briefs—which he filled out very nicely. He bent over and whispered something in Philippe’s ear. Philippe asked, “Promise?”

“Yes. I promise,” Lorraine smiled seductively at Philippe and held out his hand.

Philippe took Lorraine’s hand and stood up. He, too, took off his shirt and pants to reveal his own royal blue speedo swim brief, which he also very nicely filled out.

Philippe stood on deck and asked, “How do we get there?”

“We jump. Take my hand.” Before Philippe could protest, Lorraine had led him to the edge of the deck and jumped still holding Philippe’s hand. Philippe had no choice but to jump, too.

Lorraine shouted, “Hit the water feet first!” as their hand grip was broken. Lorraine hit the water first followed by Philippe. When Philippe surfaced, Lorraine was there to kiss him and help him to the shore. Neo was close behind them. The wet red sand squished between toes as they walked hand in hand. A few feet from the shore the red sand was dry and warm, but not scalding hot as it would get later in the afternoon.

Lorraine said, “This looks like a good spot! If you will excuse us, Neo, we need a little privacy for a few minutes.”

Neo said, “Sure,”  turned and walked away.

Lorraine dropped to his knees then laid on the sand pulling Philippe on top of him. Philippe stroked Lorraine’s face gently pushing the strands of wet hair off his face before kissing him softly. “You know, I do enjoy your platitudes. I know you are half joking when you say them.” Philippe kissed him again this time with a little gentle tongue action. Philippe’s wet hair was dripping onto Lorraine’s face, the water rolling off his cheek. Lorraine reached up and pushed Philippe’s hair behind his ear.

“You know, we should just make out a little and enjoy being here. It’s not the right place for sex. I, for one, plan on keeping my cock safely in my swim suit. Now if you want to get sand in places that would be very uncomfortable, then I will be glad to oblige you.”

“I love feeling your wet body underneath mine and tasting your salty lips.” Philippe kissed Lorraine again.

They continued kissing and caressing each other until Neo shyly walked up and said, “Sorry to interrupt you, but the Skipper is signaling us to come back to the boat.”

“Guess, we need to go for a dip and get this sand off us,” Philippe said. He got up and helped Lorraine up. They walked into the water hand in hand, then swam out to the boat followed by Neo. They climbed the ladder and stepped onto the deck. Neo hurried to get them a couple of towels. They dried each other off, then Neo brought their sunblock lotion, so they could apply it liberally to each other. Once the lotion dried, they put their shirts and pants back on and asked for some wine.

The next stop was Nea Kamini. It was the small island they could see from their balcony. It gently rose out of the ocean in the center of the watery caldera. There was quite a bit of tourist activity at the site as people walked the trails that wound around the island. They decided to walk the trail that led up to and followed the edge of the crater. Neo went with them and gave them information about the volcano.

According to Neo, the last small eruption had been in 1950 when a small lava dome was extruded. There had been more substantial eruptions in 1939, 1925, 1866, and 1707—all of which continued for at least several years each. Close monitoring of the volcano was currently being done by the Institute of Studying and Monitoring of the Santorini Volcano. There were vents that spewed sulfur scattered around the island. Neo invited them to make the trek to the hot springs and take a dip in the mineral infused water.

Philippe and Lorraine declined and were content to make the trek along the crater. The views of desolate rock and sand were spectacular. It was unnerving to think that, under their feet, was an active volcano that could erupt in fire, lava and ash. However, in recent history the volcanic activity lay deep underground with only a few manifestations on the surface.

They were glad to get back to the boat and their comfortable chairs. The wine they asked for tasted exceptionally good on their dry, parched palates. Their next and last stop would be the White Beach. When they reached it, again there were crowds of tourists on the relatively small beaches. However, the white cliffs that towered over the beaches and at some points jutted out into the blue waters were breathtaking. This time the Skipper had no access to private areas of the beach. Neo, however suggested they take a dip in the blue waters and do some snorkeling to see the colorful fish and plants in the area.

They shed their clothes again, rubbed more lotion on their bodies and listened to Neo explain how to use the snorkel mask. Again, they and Neo jumped off the boat, landing in the turquoise water of the cove where the boat had dropped anchor. In the water, Neo went over again how to use the snorkel and ensured they had the hang of it. The water felt cool on their hot skin. The sun was almost overhead and was starting to be too hot for comfort. It was good to be in the water. The views they saw through the snorkel mask were amazing. It was mesmerizing to watch the schools of fish flow gracefully by, the school, like one large living organism, undulating through the water.

All too soon, Neo was beckoning them to return to the ship. As they climbed the ladder, the smell of food wafted into their noses and they realized they were very hungry. They dried off and put their clothes back on.

The food was delicious. They had not realized how tiring their little excursions had been. They had burned off their breakfast a while back. The grilled meats were delicious, dripping with an olive oil-based sauce applied after the meat was grilled. The Greek and pasta salads added more flavor, texture and taste contrast. The bread was the perfect means of scooping up every last morsel of food. The fresh fruit was a perfect ending to a perfect meal. They were sitting back drinking wine as their boat pulled into the docks at Oia. The hardest part was the long, steep climb back up the hill to their villa. It was hot, and they were dead tired from their excursion. When they finally walked into the coolness of their villa, they were both relieved.

“Let’s order a bottle of wine and go take a shower to wash off all this sweat, salt and sand.” Lorraine suggested.

“And after the shower you are going to keep your promise to me?” Philippe asked.

“I didn’t realize how tired I would be when I promised. Can we postpone it a while until after we get some rest?”

“I didn’t postpone jumping off that boat with you.”

“Okay. I’ll keep my promise, but it won’t be as good as it would be if we waited. Now let’s take that shower.”

Lorraine went to the bedroom, dragging Philippe by the hand. They took off their clothes and their swimsuits then went into the bathroom. Lorraine turned on the shower and when the water was a comfortable temperature, he went in followed by Philippe.

“Here, let me wash your back,” Lorraine offered to Philippe. As he washed, he noticed a light pink tinge to Philippe’s skin. Despite all the lotion, he had a bit of a sunburn. Lorraine hoped it didn’t get any worse or he would have to listen to Philippe’s complaining. He turned Philippe around and continued washing him looking for more signs of sunburn. His face and shoulders had the pink tinge, too. It didn’t look too bad, thankfully. “You know, I could keep my promise right now, if you’d like.” Lorraine said as he gently washed Philippe’s genital area.

“That would be fine with me. You promised to give me a blow job. It doesn’t matter when or where. Ohh.”

Lorraine had gone to his knees. He proceeded to fulfill his promise, making Philippe moan in pleasure. At the end, Philippe moaned loudly, and half slid down the shower wall. Lorraine had to grab him to keep him from going to the shower floor. He smiled to himself at the idea that he had literally sucked all the energy from Philippe.

“Philippe, love, go dry off and lay down. I’ll be there in just a few minutes after I have washed this salt off myself.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was. Thank you for keeping your promise,” he stumbled out of the shower and found a towel. He went in to the living area and saw the wine they had ordered, open and ready to go. He grabbed the bottle and two glasses and brought them into the bedroom and set them on the nightstand. Lorraine was out of the shower, toweling himself off.

Philippe crawled onto the bed and took one of the glasses of wine he had poured to sip as he watched a naked Lorraine brushing his hair, trying to get out the tangles. Lorraine came to the bed and crawled in. Philippe handed him the other glass and they snuggled together drinking their wine. After the second glass, they both fell asleep. It was a good thing they had not scheduled anything for that afternoon because they both were too tired for anything. They needed to get their rest, so they would be up to their special outing to the Secret Restaurant. Tonight, would be Philippe’s debut in his new dress.

Lorraine was awakened when Philippe tried to slip out of his arms and out of bed. He opened his eyes to Philippe standing by the bed taking a drink of wine. Philippe saw Lorraine open his eyes and said, “Love, go back to sleep for a bit. I’m just going to start getting ready. I’ve got makeup to put on and my hair to do.”

“I want to help you with your hair. I could help you with your makeup, too. Remember, I am a fashion designer. I know about those things.”

“Sure, if you want to. You were just sleeping so peacefully. I hated to disturb you.”

“I’m awake now.” Lorraine crawled out of bed and got his wine and took a sip. “It’s a little warm, but it will do.” He took another drink.

Philippe asked, “Should I do my hair first or the makeup?”

“I’d say makeup first. What do you want to do with your hair?”

“ I was thinking a low messy bun in the back and tendrils on the sides.”

“That sounds good. And makeup—do you want it dramatic or subtle?”

“Let’s do dramatic. See, I have this beautiful purple eye shadow to go with the dress.”

“What if we used a gold tone for under the brow and around here?”

“Yes, that would look good.”

 Lorraine worked with Philippe to put on the makeup. “You got a little color today. We just need a little blush to highlight that. Easy on the eye shadow. You want drama but not drama queen.”

Lorraine played mama hen to Philippe. “Here, let me do your hair in the back. You can’t see what you are doing. Hand me a few more of those bobby pins. Now, let’s pull some of these bottom hairs out and let them hang. I’ll hand curl them a little. Yes, that’s perfect.”

Finally, Lorraine was ready to show Philippe how he looked in the mirror. “Yes, that’s really beautiful. Thank you, love. Now I need help getting these clothes on without messing up your good work. What are you going to wear? Do you have something dressy? We both need to shine.”

Lorraine pulled out a blue satin jacket he had packed for the dressy nights and a pair of black dress pants with a flashy cuff. He decided to wear a simple u-neck tank in a shiny light blue knit. It showed enough of his chest to be very sexy. He accented it with a simple gold, twisted-link chain.

“Yes! That is beautiful. The only problem is that I might not be able to keep my hands off you. You look damned sexy.”

“We shall be the best-looking couple there tonight, love.”

Philippe pulled out a pair of purple satin dress slippers to put on.

“Those are perfect for that dress!” Lorraine decided to wear the white leather boots he had worn for the wedding under his dress pants, so the pants cuffs would show.

They finished dressing and had time to sit out on the balcony and watch the sunset with a glass of wine.

Philippe said, “This was a very good day. Actually, this has been a very good honeymoon so far! Perfect, really. Don’t you agree, love?”

Lorraine had been thinking about the women from last night and worrying. He was caught off guard by Philippe’s comment. “Oh, yes. Absolutely perfect.”

“Is there something wrong, love? You look worried.”

“Not at all, love. Everything’s fine.”

Philippe looked skeptical but didn’t push it.

Soon, their car was there to pick them up. They arrived at the restaurant. Lorraine got out first to help Philippe out of the car. They walked in to the restaurant arm in arm. Heads turned but mostly because they made such a good-looking couple. Philippe’s purple dress stood out and he cut a nice figure in it. Few people even realized he was really a man, he pulled it off so well. Then there was Lorraine with his golden hair, good looks, and very sexy outfit. Philippe loved how the chiffon in the new dress fell in cascades from the high waist and flowed as he walked. Perhaps, his most favorite thing was the pearl and amethyst necklace that set off the neckline.

They were both enamored with the ambience of the restaurant—it was a century old wine cellar cave. Large circular metal candle holders hung from the ceiling with large fat candles and provided the main lighting with smaller mood lighting as supplement. All the tables were in recessed “caves” that provided an added sense of privacy. They were led to one of the available private rooms that they had requested and were seated. Philippe ordered one of the Santorini wines for them.

After the waiter left closing the door behind him, Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine softly. “I am so happy to be here with you, my dear, sweet Chevalier. I can think of no other place I would rather be except maybe back at the villa in bed with you—but that will come later.”

Lorraine returned the kiss and said, “I feel the same way. You make my life complete, love.” He looked at the menu and said, “Look at all this food. This place is overwhelming with the variety of the food offered. I think I want the antzouri (a special Santorini-grown cucumber), tomato and olive salad to begin. Then I’m going to get the Skordomakarona—I’m in the mood for some pasta and what better than a spaghetti with browned garlic? With that I want to try Pseftokeftedes made with battered and fried chard, mint, tomato, and courgettes. I see they have little sweet balls called Kopania made with raisins and sesame seeds. I think I will ask for a small plate of strawberries and figs drizzled with honey to go with them. My, that is a lot of food, but I am so hungry after our busy day.”

Philippe studied the menu for a few minutes. “Okay, I want this cheese, olive and tomato salad and this cheese-egg rabbit, Kouneli Tyravgoulo. Those stuffed flowers you got were good. They have some on this menu but with a bit different stuffing. I think I will try them, too. I think I just want some fresh strawberries drizzled with honey for dessert. I think that will be enough food for me tonight.”

Lorraine put his hand on Philippe’s face, “I want you to be fully energized when we get back to the villa, love. Don’t worry, we will work off any food we eat tonight. I’m thinking about that magic pool right now and what we can do to each other in it.”

“And this is what I am thinking about right now.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine softly and tenderly. “That’s just a warm-up.”

The waiter came to take their order, interrupting them. After he left Lorraine quipped, “Waiters are almost as bad as Bontemps creeping in and interrupting our amorous moments.”

“Maybe the problem isn’t them, it’s us. We do spend a lot of time kissing. Besides, we both know there was no privacy at Versailles. My brother could walk in on us at any time he pleased, and Bontemps was just an extension of him.”

“Please, don’t remind me. That man had it out for me. Glad he’s come to his senses now.”

“Well, you seemed to do your best to find ways to vex him. You know, like joining a conspiracy to overthrow him.”

“Let us not talk of those painful memories. Look, here comes our salads! Kiss me quick so they have to interrupt us!”

“Let’s give the poor guy a break.”

“So, you’ve grown tired of me already tonight?” Lorraine fake pouted.

“Stop pouting.”

In placing down Philippe’s salad, the waiter said, “And, madame, this is what you have ordered.”

“It is sir, not madame, if you please.” Philippe corrected.

The waiter did a double-take then stuttered, “So sorry, uh, sir. Apologies!” put down the salads and quickly left.

Lorraine chided Philippe, “Now that was pretty cruel! How was the poor guy supposed to know? You are very beautiful, my dear.”

“I’ll make up for it in the tip. Besides that’s half the fun, shocking people,” Philippe answered before taking a bite of his salad. “Mmm. Very good. That cheese has a nice twang to it that goes really well with the tomatoes and olives. How is that Santorini cucumber?”

“It’s called antzouri and it is very crisp and flavorful. It is not at all watery like most cucumbers. I’ll give you a bite of cucumber, if you will give me a bite of cheese.”

They fed each other a bite of the requested foods, then kissed.

As they finished the last bites of their salads, the waiter brought their entrees and sides. He was sure to call Philippe “sir,” this time although he tended to stare at Philippe longer than he had before.

“Well, that was a little rude!” Philippe exclaimed after the waiter had gone.

“He was just admiring your beauty, my dear. When you look that ravishing you must expect people to stare. Beauty like yours is rare.”

“Do you ever wonder what it is like really being female?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Being a girl—a woman. Being born with boobs and a vagina. Not having a penis.”

“Cannot say that I have even considered these things. What makes you think of those things now?”

“I can dress in women’s clothes and feel beautiful, but I will never really be a woman.”

“Do you have desires to be one?”

“Oh god, no. The only thing I am interested in is being beautiful and fashionable. They can keep all the other stuff that goes with being a woman.”

“Good, you had me worried there.”

“You’ve never wanted to fuck a woman, I mean in modern times, not that fling with that Protestant back in Versailles.”

“Well, that was an interesting experience, but I can’t say that I would want to do it again. Why do you ask?”  Lorraine was worried about what Philippe was remembering about the previous night.

“No real reason. The thought just came to me. I mean I had to do it out of duty. I came to love Liselotte but not at all in the way I love you. Once she had children to care for, she was happy and content. Life is so different for women than it is for men. Even in today’s world. Women have a lot more rights but there is still biology that interferes and defines us differently. There is no getting around that.”

“All this talk about women and biology is making me nauseous. Can we change the subject?”

“Do you think we will ever want children?”

“That is not the subject I wanted to talk about at all. It’s worse than women and their biology! Actually, it is still talking about their biology!”

“What is wrong with you tonight? You are awfully touchy about what subjects we talk about. It’s all theoretical anyway. Neither of us are going to have sex with a woman and neither of us will have children for a long time—maybe never. I’ve had all I care to have.”

Lorraine tried another tactic to change the subject. He leaned over, took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him, long and passionately in the hopes of driving out all thoughts of women and children. It worked. Philippe responded with a passionate kiss of his own. Then he broke away. “Our food is getting cold. Let’s enjoy it, then we can get back to this.”

They finished their entrees sharing bites with the other. They also drank their wine finishing off the bottle. Philippe wanted to order another, but Lorraine told him that they were almost at dessert, then could go home and have wine there in the comfort and privacy of the villa.

“But we paid for this private room, we may as well enjoy it.” Philippe ordered more wine. They finished their desserts quickly. Philippe moved his chair next to Lorraine’s, so they wouldn’t have to lean so far. They were deep into a make-out session when the waiter came to take their dessert plates away. The waiter stood for a few moments hoping to ask if there was anything else they would like to order, but they weren’t even aware he was there—or if they were, they chose to ignore him.

Lorraine was kissing Philippe’s neck and shoulders, while his hands had slid under the yards of chiffon to find Philippe’s knee. He was slowly working his way up Philippe’s thigh. The idea of Lorraine’s mouth on him while he wore this dress added extra excitement as did their surroundings. Lorraine’s hands made their way to Philippe’s briefs. Philippe had tried wearing women’s underwear once and it had not been a pleasant experience, so he kept to wearing his own briefs under the female clothing.

When Lorraine’s hands reached the briefs, he slid onto the floor on his knees and slid Philippe’s briefs off. Philippe’s cock was ready to go. Lorraine then started fighting with the chiffon, trying to find his “way in.” “Philippe help me, I’m drowning in chiffon here.”

Philippe helped Lorraine push aside the chiffon enough for Lorraine to find his target. Philippe moaned when contact was made. He leaned back in the chair and arched his back as Lorraine’s mouth did its work. He couldn’t see Lorraine for the chiffon, but he could feel him. The waiter took that moment to open the door, saw what was going on and quickly closed it. He wasn’t surprised. This happened all the time except it usually was a heterosexual couple. He thought that he would probably get a bigger tip because of it and smiled. Let them have their fun. They had paid for the privacy. Then he heard Philippe’s loud “Oh, my goddddd!” and knew one was down. He just needed to wait for the other one. He didn’t mind. He was paid extra to wait these private rooms. It had taken him five years to work up to the privilege and he had learned well the best way to handle these types of customers. And they almost always left huge tips.

Back in the room, Lorraine was trying to fight his way out of the chiffon, while Philippe leaned back in the chair, breathing hard. Lorraine found his way out of the yards of chiffon, stood up, took a large swig of wine, then leaned over and kissed Philippe. “How was that, love?”

Philippe breathily answered, “Excellent, thank you!” Lorraine handed him his wine glass and he took a long swig of wine.

Lorraine sat back in his chair and said, “There must be fifty yards of chiffon in that dress!”

“You exaggerate!”

“Not by much! I really thought I was going to suffocate in all that chiffon!”

Philippe emptied his wine glass and poured him another glass. “How about you, love. Ready for more wine?”

Lorraine chugged what was left in his glass and held it out for Philippe to fill.

Philippe said, “I think this has been the best dining experience I’ve ever had.”

“We’re not finished here are we?” asked Lorraine nervously.

“Of course not. I am just catching my breath. The experience is not good if you don’t have fun, too.” Philippe drank that glass of wine, then stood up. “How would you feel if I sat in your lap?”

Before Lorraine could answer, Philippe was in his lap, straddling and facing him. Chiffon was sticking out everywhere. Philippe took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him softly. He nibbled on his lips, then slipped his tongue in and kissed him again. His hands slid to the back of his head as he continued kissing Lorraine. His mouth moved down Lorraine’s neck, then down as far as the tank top would let him go. His hands were now on Lorraine’s hips, so he moved them up, pushing the tank top as he went. His mouth went to the skin exposed by the pushed-up tank top and worked their way down to his belly. His hands were now working to undo Lorraine’s pants. When he got them undone, he stood up and pulled the pants down with Lorraine’s assistance.

Philippe kneeled and pushed the pants past Lorraine’s knees towards his ankles. His hands now rested on each knee. He slid his hands up Lorraine’s thighs, pushing them apart as he went.  His hands teased as they worked their way to his groin and circled around Lorraine’s cock which was rigid and ready. Lorraine groaned with anticipation “Suck it already.” Then he added, “Please!”

“Since you put it so nicely…” Philippe’s mouth found the target and Lorraine whimpered, “Yessss.” Philippe took his time as Lorraine made incoherent noises and threw his head back and gave himself up to Philippe’s mouth and tongue. Grunts and moans were followed by a final “Oh, goddd, yeesssss.”

Philippe looked up at Lorraine and smiled, “Now is this the best dining experience you have ever had?”

Lorraine mumbled, “Yes, it is.”

Philippe reached his wine glass and took a long swallow. He was still on his knees and laid his head in Lorraine’s lap. “This sure has been one hell of a day, hasn’t it?”

Lorraine stroked Philippe’s hair tenderly and said, “Yes, it has.”

“I say tomorrow we stay in and just relax by the pool. We can order room service and wine and just kick back all day.”

“Sounds perfectly fine to me.”

They stayed with Philippe’s head in Lorraine’s lap with Lorraine stroking his hair until they heard the door open then close.

Lorraine said, “I guess that is the waiter wanting to clean up. It is probably close to their quitting time. Maybe we should get dressed and leave.

Philippe said, “I am dressed, well except for my briefs wherever you threw them.”

After a few more moments, Philippe finally stood up and helped Lorraine pull his pants back up. Philippe found his briefs and put them on, fighting the chiffon as he did so. Soon they were ready to go and were downing the last glass of wine. Philippe had called their car, so it would be ready outside after they settled the bill. The waiter made another peek inside and saw that “all was clear” and came in to ask if they needed anything else. Philippe told him, “Just the bill, thanks.”

The waiter left and quickly came back with the bill. Philippe told him, “I want you to know that we have had a truly wonderful evening. The food was excellent, the ambience magical, and your service outstanding. Thank you for giving us the privacy we needed.” After they left, the waiter looked at the settled bill and was totally surprised by the very hefty tip they had given him.

In the car, Lorraine asked, “Are we still going to do the pool?”

“I don’t know. We should have a bottle of wine chilling. It depends on how we feel when we get to the villa. I’m up for it if you are.”

They kissed and snuggled. The driver had to wake them when they arrived at the villa. It was all they could do to walk up the path to the villa. They took off their clothes and collapsed on to the bed. The last thing Philippe said before he fell asleep was, “Maybe we should save it for tomorrow.” Lorraine was already asleep.


	45. Never Lie To Your Lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe finds out the truth about the encounter with the women and that Lorraine lied to him about it. Fabien joins them in Santorini to find the identity of the women. Philippe is angry and hurt that Lorraine has already broken their wedding vows by lying to him.

Lorraine was wakened by Philippe’s kiss. Philippe was laying half on him with his leg draped across Lorraine’s. Philippe’s left-hand caressed Lorraine’s face as he softly kissed Lorraine again.

“I thought you were never going to wake up.”

“I thought we were going to sleep in today.”

“Sleep in does not preclude a little early morning sex, does it?”

“No, I guess it does not. Let me wake up a little first, ok?”

Philippe kissed him again this time slipping in a little gentle tongue action. His hand stroked Lorraine’s face gently. “You look so good this morning, love.”

“Well, I can’t say the same thing about you. We fell asleep before we could take off your makeup. You’ve got a little racoon eye going on, but it looks endearing on you, love.” Lorraine gently wiped under Philippe’s eye.

“I’ll wash my face thoroughly in a while. After we have properly started the day.” The next kiss was an urgent, passionate one. Philippe moved onto Lorraine to make more contact between their naked bodies. He kissed Lorraine’s cheek, his chin, his forehead, and back to his lips, while pressing his body against Lorraine.

The kisses and the contact with Philippe were having their effect on Lorraine as he began responding and pushing his body back against Philippe’s. He rolled on top of Philippe and planted his own kisses on Philippe’s face then slid his lips down to Philippe’s neck. How he loved that long, white, soft neck! He could kiss and suck on it all day.

But Philippe had his own agenda and managed to grab Lorraine and flip them, so he was on top. “I see you are starting to wake up.” Philippe kissed him holding him down with hands on both shoulders. His mouth and lips worked their way to Lorraine’s chest, then back up to his neck. As Philippe sucked and kissed Lorraine’s neck, Lorraine’s hands were exploring Philippe’s back, running lightly over his shoulder blades, down his spine, up his sides, relishing the feel of his soft skin and the movement of Philippe’s muscles under his fingertips.

Philippe’s lips found Lorraine’s again. A couple of short, soft kisses led to a more passionate tongue tussling kiss. Lorraine’s wandering hands were now on Philippe’s buttocks pushing Philippe’s hips against his hips. Both men were fully awake and invested in their actions. They had all the time in the world to explore and enjoy each other. There was no job or other obligations to rush them. Philippe thought about the box of sex tools but didn’t want to interrupt the flow they currently had. Lorraine’s fingers running along his skin fired his passion way better than any sex tool this morning. With his body lying on Lorraine’s he could feel the rise and fall of Lorraine’s chest push him up and down. After the last kiss, he ran his tongue down Lorraine’s chin, down his neck, to the indention between his clavicle, down to his belly. He sucked, kissed and licked with his tongue. Lorraine responded by arching his back. Philippe was now on his knees bending forward. His mouth found where Lorraine’s thigh joined to his torso. Kissing there caused Lorraine to get goosebumps.

“Stop, that tickles.” Lorraine wiggled.

Philippe continued applying more pressure, so it didn’t tickle and adding a nibbling action. Lorraine moaned as Philippe’s mouth got closer to the sensitive area around his cock. Lorraine was responding to his teasing kisses by moving his hips and moaning. His cock was responding, still Philippe teased by kissing and sucking all around it.

Lorraine moaned, “Philippe, please,” followed by a gurgling moan as Philippe finally made contact. By now Philippe knew exactly the moves that would make Lorraine moan and cry out. He expertly brought Lorraine to release, satisfied when Lorraine finally shouted “Oh. Godddd. Yesss, oh goddd!”

Philippe moved to lay on top of Lorraine again, laying his ear to Lorraine’s chest to listen to the beating of his heart. Lorraine had a handful of Philippe’s hair in each hand pushing Philippe’s head against his chest. “Oh, damn, Philippe. That was good.” They lay there for a few minutes as Lorraine gathered his strength back.

Lorraine pulled Philippe’s face up to his and kissed him. “There is nothing better in this world than waking up to you, love.”

“Oh, I can think of better things—those things we do after we wake up—or before we go to sleep.”

“You mean like this?” Lorraine rolled over, so he was on top of Philippe and began kissing Philippe’s neck, while wrapping his lower legs around and under Philippe’s legs, essentially pinning him down. When Philippe complained about the kisses tickling, Lorraine moved his mouth onto Philippe’s to shut him up with a long, fervent kiss. His hands found Philippe’s hands and slowly pushed them up the bed even with Philippe’s head. Now he had Philippe totally pinned to the bed. Philippe started wiggling to free himself.

“I don’t know what you have planned, but I don’t think I like it,” protested Philippe.

“Don’t be so quick to judge, love,” Lorraine said as he nibbled then blew on Philippe’s ear, moving his lips down his jaw  to the other ear, nibbling and blowing on that ear, too. Philippe was about to protest, but his protest was stopped by Lorraine’s mouth on his and another tongue-twisting kiss.

Lorraine then moved down to kiss and suck on Philippe’s chest paying special attention to both nipples. As Lorraine’s mouth made its way down towards Philippe’s stomach, he leaned back to where he was on his knees and pulled his hands, still holding Philippe’s downward.  He kissed, licked and sucked the bare skin on Philippe’s stomach with Philippe squirming underneath him. When his mouth moved below his belly button, Philippe ceased his squirming in anticipation. He was just about to burst with anticipation and wanted Lorraine to just get on with it, but Lorraine had different ideas.

Lorraine withdrew his legs from under Philippe’s and slid himself down to sit, on his knees, between Philippe’s legs. Now, he started running his hands up and down the top of Philippe’s thighs, slowing down tantalizingly at the top.

Philippe tried a new tactic, “My dear, sweet, Chevalier, please, please get on with it, love. Please.”

“So, you are begging for it now, are you?”

“God, yes. I am begging you, please!”

Lorraine moved his hands slowly up Philippe’s inner thighs. Philippe moaned in expectation. Lorraine’s hands stopped as he reached Philippe’s groin area. “Maybe, I need just a little more encouragement from you,” he teased.

Philippe half sat up and grabbed the hair on Lorraine’s head with his hands, “I’ll show you encouragement.” He pushed Lorraine’s face within inches of his almost bursting cock. “Now, please!”

Lorraine chuckled, “My, aren’t we testy today! I suppose since you want it so bad…”

Philippe didn’t have a chance to answer—he moaned instead, as Lorraine’s mouth started its work. No one knew Philippe better than his Chevalier. He knew exactly how to bring Philippe to the precipice, then pull back just enough to tantalize and tease more. Philippe both loved and hated the way Lorraine played him, but he knew the reward at the end would be increased ten-fold because of it. Lorraine had him making small crying noises and writhing in anticipation. When Lorraine knew he had pushed him far enough, he made the moves that would take Philippe over the precipice. Philippe cried out incoherently  followed by the more understandable, “Goddd. Oh, godddd!”

Lorraine crawled back up to nestle his head on Philippe’s chest, so he could hear his heart beating loudly. Philippe responded by wrapping his arms around Lorraine. Satiated for the moment, they fell back asleep. Several hours later Philippe was shaking Lorraine awake. Lorraine was disoriented as Philippe held him and tried to soothe him, “It was just a bad dream, love,” Philippe was telling him.

Lorraine remembered the dream, then and panicked. “What was I doing? What was I saying?”

“You were flailing around and kept saying, ‘I’m sorry I lied!’ and ‘forgive me!’” Philippe gave Lorraine one of “those” looks. “Love, who have you been lying to recently?”

Lorraine tried to hide the panicked look on his face and replied, “No one. I have no idea why I was saying that. Dreams! Who understands them, anyway.”

“You cannot fool me. I have seen that worried look on your face when you think I am not looking at you.”

“You know me. I worry all the time about the stupidest things. Right now, I am worried if you don’t wash that makeup off your face, you are going to break out.”

“Don’t try to divert my attention! I can see it in your eyes.”

Philippe was looking directly at Lorraine and Lorraine knew the guilt was showing on his face, plain as day.

Lorraine stared back at Philippe like a deer caught in his headlights, unable to move, speak or talk his way out of this. Instead, he was trying to formulate the words he could say that wouldn’t set Philippe off. There were no words because he knew Philippe was going to be furious.

Philippe said, “I am waiting.”

Lorraine’s brain was jumping from one set of words to another. He knew none would work. He could only tell the truth now. Still he fought for just the right words.

“I am still waiting.” Philippe was sounding very annoyed.

Lorraine knew any stalling would only make him angrier. “I lied to you about what happened the other night.”

“The other night? What did you lie about?”

“Those women. They didn’t take a quick look around and go home like I said. They did something really awful.”

Now Philippe was looking confused. “What exactly did they do?”

“Remember when they asked us to take them out on the balcony, so they could look at the view?”

Philippe tried to sort through the blurred memories of that night. “Not really but tell me about it.”

“Our wine glasses were empty, and the redhead offered to go back in and fill our glasses. I suspect that when she did, she put something extra in our glasses.”

“Extra? Like what?”

“Like some drug to make us high, lose our inhibitions and another one.”

“Yes. You are dragging this out and I am losing patience. What else?”

“Viagra.”

Philippe looked confused and dumbfounded. “But why? And what makes you think that?”

“For some reason, I was tired of all the wine we had been drinking all day and didn’t drink more than a sip of mine. But you drank yours down. And started acting, well, out of character.”

Philippe was now beginning to see where this was going but pushed Lorraine for the details. “Explain.”

“They were flirting with you and you were flirting back. You had your arms around them, and well, you get the idea, I hope. I noticed because I wasn’t drinking. Then the redhead said she needed to go to the restroom and asked you to show her where it was again because she had forgotten.”

Philippe had that quiet perturbed look that usually preceded an outburst of total anger. Lorraine braced himself and kept going. “The blonde tried to distract me, even flirted with me. Then I heard the noises coming from the bedroom and I knew what was happening. I wanted to go in to stop it, but the blonde grabbed me and told me she had never been with a man and wondered what it was like. I finally had to push her really hard to get her off me and went in to the bedroom.” Lorraine stopped. He didn’t want to say the next words.

“And what did you find in the bedroom?” Philippe asked although Lorraine was sure he already knew the answer.

Lorraine’s bottom lip started to quiver, and his eyes teared up. Finally, he answered, “You, on the bed with that woman undressing you. I yelled at her to stop. She tried to ignore me, but I was insistent. She finally got off the bed and put her clothes back on. You barely knew what was going on.”

“And then what did you do since I was so incapacitated? You, my trusted partner. What did you do to protect me?”

“I followed her out of the bedroom and made sure the both of them left.”

Philippe looked stunned. “Did she, uh, did she get what she wanted?”

“No, I stopped her in time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you lie to me?”

“I didn’t think you’d remember. Whatever they gave you was strong. You were really messed up. I didn’t want you to feel so used.”

“Oh my god. Are you sure you stopped her in time?”

“Yes, she was furious with me. She even told her friend she didn’t get what she wanted as they left.”

“And you say you didn’t feel like drinking your wine, so you were unaffected?”

“Yes, thank god.”

“That is so humiliating to be played and used like that. Thank you, love.”

“I am just glad that I was able to keep that woman from getting her way. If not, then right now, she could have been carrying an embryo inside of her.”

“And we would never have known.”

“Or they might have tried to get child support from us. It would only take a DNA test to prove who the father was, and it would be our word against theirs as to what happened.”

“Technically, it could be considered rape, but what court would even believe it? The idea of there being a child of mine out in the world that I could not protect is devastating. But really you should have told me. You didn’t have to carry the burden alone.” Philippe came over and hugged Lorraine.

“And you, love, were so messed up. I had a very horny and capable you to deal with! It took over three hours for the Viagra to wear off. I never thought I would be glad for you not to want more sex. You wore me out.”

“But why didn’t you say something?”

“You didn’t remember anything. I thought it was best that way.” Then Lorraine explained how he went to the management to get information on the women and how the women weren’t even guests at the hotel. Their whole story had been made up.

“I’m calling Fabien.”

“What good will that do? Those women are long gone. They didn’t get what they wanted.”

“Still, they need to pay. Fabien can find them and put the fear of god into them. Who knows? They might decide to try this scheme on some other unsuspecting man.”

“And what if it escalates? Fabien gets accused of assault or they try to say it was us who tried to rape them? I could think of so many ways this could end up very badly.”

“I’m going to call Fabien and get his advice on this. At the least, as my head of security he needs to know what happened.”

“I agree, Fabien should probably know about this. But I don’t see how confronting those women will help matters any.”

“I will do whatever Fabien suggests I do. He is more the expert on a matter like this than either you or I.”

Philippe picked up the phone and called Fabien. Lorraine listened as Philippe gave Fabien a brief description of what had happened. He heard Philippe tell Fabien how humiliated and used he felt, then ask Fabien what should be done next, if anything. Philippe was then quiet, Lorraine assumed he was listening to what Fabien had to say.

Philippe then answered, “Ok. We’ll have a car waiting at the airport for you” and hung up.

Lorraine asked, “Is Fabien coming here?”

“Yes, he wants to see if he can find out who those women were. At this point, there is not much we can do. He just will feel better if he knows their identities just to be on the safe side.”

Philippe studied Lorraine’s face for a few minutes then said, “They are going to be bringing our brunch pretty soon. We should dress. It will be at least three hours, probably more before Fabien gets here.”

“Philippe, are you mad at me?”

“Yes, you should have told me right away. Fabien said we could have filed a police report. I could have been tested to identify what drugs they used. Even if we couldn’t prove anything else, at least the authorities here would have their names and the women could not come back on the island without being taken into custody and questioned.”

“Do you hate me?”

There was hesitation before Philippe answered, “No, because I am also thankful that you did not drink and therefore was able to stop that woman from taking total advantage of me. However, we promised not to lie to each other anymore and you lied to me.”

“I only did it to protect you. I didn’t think there was much you could do about it, so why worry you? I know that was wrong of me. I really wrestled with the decision to keep it from you. In the end, I thought I was protecting you.”

“We are married now. For better or for worse. I am sorry that the worse came so soon. I only wish that you had kept your vow and been truthful.”

“No more than I wish for the same thing.”

The knock at the door ended their conversation. They ate a quiet brunch. The only conversation was about how good the food was. Lorraine thought about how wonderfully the morning had started off. He didn’t know it, but Philippe was thinking the same thing. Philippe called room service and ordered a bottle of champagne and a carafe of orange juice, so they could make their own mimosas.

All Lorraine could think was, “If he gets drunk, he might get violent.”

When the champagne and orange juice came, Philippe made two mimosas and gave one to Lorraine. “Let’s go sit out by the pool.”

Lorraine followed Philippe out to the pool with his mimosa, carrying the orange juice carafe while Philippe carried the champagne and his mimosa. Philippe decided to go back in for the ice bucket the champagne came in, so the champagne would stay cold.

As they sat there quietly sipping their drink, Philippe said, “I know it is not your fault that this happened. There was nothing you could have done. When we were at dinner and I asked those women to join us, I saw your reaction. You didn’t want them joining us. But they were my fans and you indulged me. I was the fool. I fell for their flattery. I saw you sigh when I invited them back to the villa. If I had honored what I saw in you, then this would have never happened. It is not your fault.”

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief, “So, you are not mad at me anymore, mignonette?”

“I didn’t say that. You lied to me. It hurts that you would lie and keep something so important from me.”

Lorraine knew it was useless trying to defend himself.

They continued to sit quietly drinking the mimosas. When the drinks were gone, the sun had gotten hot, so Lorraine said he was going inside where it was cool. Inside, he went to the bathroom to take a quick, cool shower. When he opened the shower door to exit, Philippe was standing in the bathroom door watching him. Unsure what to do, Lorraine grabbed a towel and began drying himself off. Philippe was still watching so Lorraine slowed down and tried to be as seductive as he could be without looking so obvious that was what he was doing.

On his way out of the bathroom, Philippe stepped aside to let him pass and Lorraine said, “You should take a cool shower. It feels good.”

Lorraine continued into the bedroom and dressed since Fabien would be there in a bit. “I’m going to order a snack. Do you want anything?”

“Order me a cheese and fruit plate, thank you. And some lemonade—a pitcher of it. For when Fabien gets here.” Philippe went in to take a shower.

By the time the snacks got there, Philippe had finished his shower and dressed. They both sat at the table to eat their snacks. Lorraine felt Philippe’s knee brush against his then settle in, lightly touching his knee. That was a good sign.

Philippe’s phone rang. It was Fabien saying that he had just landed at the airport and was in the car on the way to the villa. Thirty minutes later Fabien was knocking at the door.

“This is a really beautiful place, but that walk up here to your villa is a killer! Especially in this heat!”

“We’ve got some lemonade for you, if you’d like,” Philippe offered.

“What? No wine? I figured you two would be drinking wine all day and night long.”

“We had champagne a while ago—and orange juice—mimosas. It wasn’t very Greek, but it was good. The food here is excellent,” Lorraine countered.

They settled down and began their talk.

“Tell me exactly what happened. Every detail that you can think of.”

Philippe retorted, “Lorraine will have to tell you since I was drugged and didn’t know what I was doing. My memory of the evening is blurry.”

Lorraine explained everything as he remembered it. Down to every detail. He also explained what he had done with the management the next morning.

Fabien listened, asking questions along the way.

At the end, Philippe said, “Fabien, do you think you can find those women?”

“Probably. It doesn’t sound like they are typical con artists who have learned the ins and outs of hiding their identities. They will probably make mistakes. We will just have to wait and see. I think I might have an unofficial talk with the local authorities about this. Just to give them a heads up.”

Lorraine spoke up, “Fabien, I know you will do your very best on this. I should have told Philippe what happened right away, but I thought I was protecting him. I know now that I was wrong.” Lorraine put his hand on Philippe’s shoulder to comfort him. Philippe did not pull away. That was another good sign.

Philippe said, “I asked them to book a room for you. Did you bring any clothes?”

“No, I didn’t take the time. Claudine is going to pack some clothes for me and send them.”

Lorraine said, “I will send someone to pick them up from her. They can fly them on the company jet and bring them here to the hotel for you. They could be here by tonight. In the meantime, we have some comfortable clothes for you to wear. You could fit into Philippe’s since he’s a little taller than me.”

“Thank you but my clothes are just fine.”

Philippe interjected, “Believe me, it gets hot here and jeans do not work.”

“What size do you wear? I’ll call the design house and have them get some clothes in your size that will be suitable and send them. You can wear your clothes and find out just how uncomfortable they will be, or you can try some of Philippe’s until the others get here.”

“Ok. Give me a pair of Philippe’s clothes and I will try them. I will go check into my room and make some calls. The one thing I will need is a car to get around here.”

“I will arrange it for you. Would you like to have supper with us in the Charisma Restaurant? It has very good food. You can fill us in on what you have found,” Lorraine offered. “And get any room service that you need. They can get you toiletries and stuff too. Our restaurant reservations are for seven-thirty.”

“That sounds good. I’ll call you and let you know what room I am in.”

Fabien left, leaving Philippe and Lorraine alone together. Lorraine tentatively reached out his hand and took Philippe’s. Philippe did not pull away. Lorraine reached out with his other hand and gently stroked Philippe’s arm. Philippe turned and buried his head in Lorraine’s chest. Lorraine hugged him tightly and whispered, “Mignonette, everything will be okay. We have Fabien on our side and you know he doesn’t leave a stone unturned.”

Philippe raised his head, kissed Lorraine and said, “I forgive you, love.” It was the best thing Lorraine had heard all day.

 


	46. Love Under the Greek Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine finds forgiveness, Fabien gets a lead on the women, and Philippe practices his wedding vows.

Philippe said, “I am tired. I think I want to go lie down for a while.”

Lorraine asked nervously, “May I join you?”

“Yes, but I am not in the mood for sex.”

“I understand.”

Lorraine followed Philippe into the bedroom and laid down on one side of the bed. Lorraine laid on the other. After a few minutes Philippe said, “I said I wasn’t in the mood for sex, but I didn’t say anything about cuddling.” Lorraine slid over to Philippe quickly. Philippe put his arm around him and Lorraine put his head on his chest.

After a few minutes Lorraine nervously asked, “Mignonette, why did you forgive me so quickly?”

“Should I not have?”

“Usually, when you are mad at me, it takes a while before you forgive me. You, well, you make me pay for whatever I did.”

“Did you not listen to my wedding vows to you? I promised to forgive you for not being perfect. I know you by now, and I know, if given two options, one right and one wrong, a lot of the time you will choose the wrong one and then regret it the minute you do. I don’t know why—you just do, love. I watched you and knew you lied to me, not out of vindictiveness or personal gain, but because you thought you were protecting me. Maybe there was a little taking the easy way out, too. You just didn’t think through what I might have wanted until after you had committed yourself. You made a mistake, I forgave you. If  we are to stay happily married, then we need to accept that the other is going to make mistakes now and then.” Philippe gently kissed the top of Lorraine’s head.

“That makes me feel worse than if you had stayed mad at me.”

“Then maybe this forgiving you is a better way to go. But don’t take advantage of me, understand?”

“Yes, love. I would never do that.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t.” Philippe closed his eyes and they both drifted off to sleep. They were awakened later by a very loud knocking at the door. Philippe was up first and stumbled to the door. It was Fabien.

“Did I interrupt something? I thought we were going to dinner. I tried phoning and there was no answer.”

Philippe tried to shake off the sleep, “Sorry, we fell asleep. The phones must’ve been in the other room. What time is it?”

“About ten minutes before your reservation.”

“Let me go wash my face. We’ll be ready in just a few minutes. Come in and have a seat.”

Philippe went in and told Lorraine what time it was. They hurried to wash their faces, brush their hair and changed into fresh clothes. Philippe had noticed Fabien was wearing the cooler vacation clothes he had loaned him.

Soon they were walking to the restaurant. Lorraine had told Fabien he looked nice in the vacation clothes. Fabien had answered that they were much cooler and more comfortable, but he felt a little strange in them.

“They are a little looser than what I am used to.”

Philippe laughed and said, “That was my reaction, too.”

At the restaurant, they were seated at a table that had a great view.

Fabien asked, “Do you have any recommendations?  I have no idea where to start. It all sounds so good.”

Lorraine suggested, “Try the Poulia Yemista as an appetizer. They are stuffed squash blossoms and are very good. You can go vegetarian or there are fish, beef, lamb and even rabbit entrees depending on what you are in the mood for.”

Philippe said, “I think I am going to try the pork souvlaki.  It says it is skewered and grilled pork strips. I’ll have a Greek salad to start and the Fava me Koukia with the souvlaki. All the vegetables are very fresh and ripe—especially the tomatoes. They have a delicious tomato patty thing—here it is tomato gefthedes—tomato fritters. I would recommend that for you, Fabien.”

Fabien studied the menu then decided to try the Poulia Yemista as appetizer and the tomato gefthedes and Atherinopita, the “pie” of tiny fish fried with onions and flour.

Lorraine decided on the Poulia Yemista for his appetizer, roasted lamb and sautéed tomatoes, courgettes (squash), and onions. He encouraged Fabien to try the Saganaki—cheese in phyllo with honey for dessert, which Lorraine also wanted. Philippe wanted figs, strawberries and pomegranate seeds drizzled with honey.

Philippe said, “While I want wine with my meal, I think we should start off with a round of ouzo shots to celebrate our friendship!”

They made their orders and the ouzo shots were brought. They toasted to their friendship and downed the ouzo. Then Philippe asked, “Do you have anything to report on your investigation, yet? I know you just barely started.”

“Actually, I have managed to find out where the women stayed. It is amazing how quickly hotel personnel give up information in the hopes of a reward. From there, I discovered that they took a flight back to Paris. With one major airport on this island, it made it easy to track them once I knew what names they were traveling under. I have people in Paris going through the Paris airport footage to find them. With your permission, I will fly back to Paris after our meal tonight.”

“I knew if anyone could track them, you could. Thank you, Fabien!” Philippe exclaimed.

Fabien didn’t think it was necessary to remind Philippe that finding the women was just the very first step. There was no reason to press the matter and ruin his good mood. Philippe and Lorraine had a honeymoon to enjoy. There would be time later to figure out exactly what to do about the women. Fabien also marveled at how quickly Philippe had forgiven Lorraine. Marriage seemed to have brought them much closer together. That was a good thing.

The conversation turned to pleasant topics as Philippe and Lorraine told Fabien all about their outing to the beaches and the volcanic island. They also gave an abbreviated version of their trip to the Secret Restaurant.

Philippe beamed, “I got to wear this beautiful purple chiffon gown Lorraine gave me. We found the most gorgeous pearl and amethyst necklace at a shop here that complemented the gown so well.”

Fabien was used to Philippe’s idiosyncrasies and smiled at his enthusiasm and joy.

“The best part was that we had reserved a private dining room. Let me just say it was very private and we enjoyed some very private time together after the meal.” Philippe had obviously enjoyed himself a lot.

Lorraine spoke up, “And let me say that I was not a fan of the fifty yards of chiffon. At times, I thought I was going to suffocate in all that chiffon.”

“There was not fifty yards of chiffon. You exaggerate!” Lorraine just shrugged his shoulders and chose not to respond.

Fabien said, “It is good to hear how much you are enjoying this honeymoon. I hope you put that one incident out of your mind and continue to enjoy yourselves. We will get this resolved satisfactorily, so there is nothing to worry about.” Sometimes a little white lie was necessary to put people at ease.

They ate their meal, enjoying the very good food. They talked, drank wine and had a good time. Fabien was not going to drink wine, but Philippe convinced him a glass or two wouldn’t hurt. All he had to do was make it to the airport and sit on a plane for three hours. The Santorini wines were very good.

Fabien really liked the saganaki—the cheese, phyllo and honey dessert. At the end of the meal, they ordered another round of ouzo shots to toast to Fabien’s success. When the waiter announced that the meal was comped by management, Philippe was surprised. Lorraine started to make up a story then decided to tell the truth that the comp was because of his talking to the management about what had happened with the women. At first, Philippe was upset that Lorraine had revealed his personal humiliation, but Lorraine explained how he had turned it into a failed attempt at robbery.

Philippe quipped, “I guess there are times when your ability to easily lie is a good thing.”

Lorraine winced at the quip but said nothing in his defense.

Fabien told them that he was going back to his room to change into his own clothes and would drop off the clothes Philippe had loaned him before he left. They left the restaurant together and started the trek to the respective accommodations. When Fabien had left them, Lorraine had put his arm around Philippe and hugged him.

“Any suggestions on how we should spend the rest of this night, Mignonette?”

Philippe looked at him and smiled, “I was thinking about a dip in the pool.”

“You mean our magical pool?”

“Yes, the very one. It is a nice warm night. A dip in the pool and some other activities would be a nice ending to the day. I’ll order another bottle of wine when we get to the villa.”

Lorraine smiled. His Philippe was back in a good mood and not mad at him anymore. The night would be a good one!

A short while later, Fabien knocked on their door to return the clothes. He smiled when he saw the two were wearing swim trunks. It looked like they still had a lot of night left in them. They said their goodbyes. Fabien promised to call as soon as he had any new information.

Philippe and Lorraine headed out to the balcony with their bottle of wine in the ice bucket and two glasses. They were still a little tipsy from the wine and ouzo at dinner, so Philippe opened the wine to let it breathe. Lorraine was stretched out on the deck chair watching Philippe. After Philippe finished opening the wine and had put the bottle back into the ice, he turned and smiled at Lorraine.

Lorraine started to get up, but Philippe pushed him back down and crawled on top of him. Philippe gently kissed Lorraine, then stroked his face. “I do love you, my Chevalier, even that naughty little lying side of you. I don’t care that you lie to other people, just don’t lie to me!” Philippe put his lips on Lorraine’s and nibbled his lower lip, then slipped his tongue between his lips and kissed Lorraine again with more passion. Philippe pushed his body against Lorraine’s as they kissed. The hunger was growing in each of them as their bare skin grew hotter against the other.

“Love, are we going to get in the pool anytime soon? It’s getting hot out here,” Lorraine asked.

Philippe put his mouth on Lorraine’s in answer. After the tongue-twisting kiss, Philippe moved his mouth to Lorraine’s neck. He was running his fingers over Lorraine’s body, feeling the muscles under the skin as Lorraine moved under him in response to the kisses on his neck. His hands went down to pull off Lorraine’s swim briefs. He whispered, “Don’t know why we even bothered to put these on.”

His mouth went back onto Lorraine’s as his hands continued their exploration of Lorraine’s body. Lorraine’s hands reciprocated by removing Philippe’s swim briefs. Lorraine felt Philippe reach down and pull something from the folds of the towel he had brought out. “Thought this might make things go a little smoother for us this time.” Philippe had one of their vials of oil. “They say oil and water don’t mix. We are about to find out.” Philippe stood up and took Lorraine’s hand and pulled him up.

He handed Lorraine the oil. “You go first. Lube me up good and we’ll get in the water.”

Philippe turned around and Lorraine stepped up behind him and put his arms around him and hugged him. He ran his hands down Philippe’s side then slapped his butt with the hand that didn’t have the vial in it. “Do you always have to slap my ass?” Philippe asked.

“Yes, my love. I love to see you jump.” Lorraine opened the vial and poured a little oil on the fingers of his right hand. He kissed the back of Philippe’s neck while his right hand went to his buttocks and began rubbing in the oil. Still nibbling on and kissing Philippe’s neck he poured more oil onto his hand and this time his fingers found their mark. Philippe grunted when Lorraine’s finger penetrated him.

“Time to get in the pool. Put the cap back on the vial and put it down by the side of the pool.” Philippe pulled away and jumped feet first into the pool. “Feels great, get in.”

Lorraine followed Philippe into the pool. They kissed again then Philippe turned to face the side of the pool as Lorraine came up behind him, hugged him, kissing his neck and shoulders while pressing his naked body against Philippe’s. His hands went to the sides of Philippe’s hips to hold him still in the water and he carefully, and gently entered Philippe who moaned at the penetration. Lorraine thrust slowly and carefully until he was sure Philippe was thoroughly ready for him. They were totally caught up in the sensations of their bodies. The touch of the warm water on their skin. The warm breeze on their faces. Lorraine’s cock inside Philippe.

Philippe felt the cool tile of the pool on his chest as he was pushed against the side of the pool with each thrust Lorraine made. He grunted as the sensations grew inside him. He heard Lorraine’s groaning as the thrusting grew more intense, then felt Lorraine’s release and incoherent shout as he leaned against Philippe and put his arms around him. He withdrew from Philippe and turned him around to kiss him, lovingly and tenderly.

“I will always remember these nights with you here in Greece, Mignonette,” he whispered and kissed Philippe again. Lorraine held Philippe close, his arms wrapped tightly around him and rested his head on his chest. He could feel Philippe pressing his cock against him and knew Philippe wanted his turn but was willing to allow Lorraine this special time. “Love, I am ready for you to get the oil, now.”

Philippe reached for the vial and in the same movement turned Lorraine around where he was now facing the side of the pool. Philippe’s free hand grasped Lorraine’s buttock then ran up the small of his back, up his spine and to the wet hair plastered against his back. He slowly pushed the hair aside and began nibbling on Lorraine’s neck. He held the vial out of the water and opened it to pour oil on the fingers of his right hand. He set the vial down on the side of the pool, then kissed the back of Lorraine’s neck while slipping his fingers into Lorraine. It was Lorraine’s turn to moan as he was penetrated.

He looked up at the night sky, velvety blue splattered with twinkling points of light, as Philippe began slowly working his way in. Lorraine wondered how many thousands of other lovers had made love under those  beautiful stars. Then his total attention was brought back to the feel of Philippe inside him. Each thrust sent waves of intense sensation through him. He knew Philippe was almost to the point of release just from the feel of his cock inside him.

He and Philippe knew each other so very well. They had had a lifetime of sex at St. Cloud and now they were on their second lifetime here. No movement Philippe made was a surprise to him, but that made it all the more special. He knew what was coming next and the anticipation was delightful. Then he felt and heard it; Philippe’s release inside him and that familiar moaning. Philippe leaned against him. He could feel Philippe’s hot breath on the back of his neck. There was nothing as good as the feel of Philippe resting on him afterwards. For these special minutes, they were both totally sated and satisfied. The intense connection they felt at these moments was indescribable. Not everyone found that special someone. He knew they were extremely blessed to have each other and this very special relationship.

Finally, Philippe turned him around and kissed him, slowly at first, then more deeply. When Philippe came up for air, he stroked Lorraine’s face. “Love, that was so very good! There is nothing better than the two of us making love.” He kissed Lorraine again, softly and tenderly. “I cannot imagine my life without you in it, my sweet, dear Chevalier.”

“Nor can I imagine mine without you in it, love.”

They held each other quietly for a while, until Philippe finally said, “I feel myself turning into a prune. We need to get out of this pool.” Philippe took Lorraine’s hand and led him up the steps and out of the pool. They dried each other off, kissing and hugging as they did.

“Let’s go inside and get our robes, then sit out here and enjoy our wine and this beautiful view.” Lorraine shook his head in agreement. When they came back out in their robes, they pushed the deck chairs together, so they could hold hands and cuddle as they sipped their wine. They saw several shooting stars and kissed each time they saw one. When the wine was gone, they stumbled into the bedroom and fell into bed, snuggling into each other’s arms. They fell asleep, both thinking how lucky they each were.

 


	47. Just Another Fun-filled Day in Greece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a busy day. First they visit the Minoan ruins at Akrotiri. Then they visit several wineries to learn the special methods used to grow grapes in Santorini. That is followed by a sunset helicopter ride. They end the day at a Greek Taverna for a Greek party complete with Greek folk dancers

 

They were awakened the next morning by the phone in their room ringing. Lorraine untangled himself from Philippe and reached over to answer it. It was their wakeup call. They had a full day planned, but all Lorraine felt like doing was rolling back over and going to sleep. But he knew that wasn’t possible because their in-room breakfast would be arriving soon.

He rolled over and draped his leg over Philippe. He kissed Philippe softly. “Love, we need to wake up now.”

Philippe stirred and opened his eyes and made a mumbling noise that made no sense.

“Love, we need to take a quick shower before our breakfast comes. Then we have a tour to go on.”

“Shower? Tour?” Philippe obviously wasn’t quite awake yet.

“Remember? We are going on a tour of the ruins at Akrotiri and then visit three wineries. After that we have a helicopter ride to see the sunset, then we go to a Greek Taverna for a Greek party evening.”

“All that in one day?” Philippe made a face as he yawned.

“Well, we did take the day off yesterday.”

Philippe smiled as he remembered, then reached over and kissed Lorraine, pushing him onto his back and climbing on top of him. “Let’s have another fun day, just the two of us,” and kissed Lorraine again.

“We’ve already made the arrangements and we can’t cancel at this point without losing our money.’

“Then let’s have a little quickie to last us until tonight,” Philippe kissed Lorraine again very intensely.

“How about I give you a quickie in the shower?”

“If that’s what you want, then let’s go.” Philippe got up, grabbed Lorraine’s hand and pulled him up. He kissed Lorraine again and pushed him towards the bathroom. Lorraine kept his promise in the shower and made Philippe very happy. They were drying off when there was a knock at the door. Lorraine put on his robe and went in to answer it. It was their breakfast.

Philippe had ordered an omelet with tomatoes, onions and olives. Lorraine had ordered two over easy eggs with locally made sausages. There was freshly baked barley bread, fresh butter and locally made jam. They washed it all down with freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee.

As they were sipping their third cup of coffee, Lorraine said, “We have fifteen minutes until the van is here to pick us up. That means we need to be at the main office in fifteen minutes—including our trek down there.”

“Aren’t you the task master this morning!” Philippe took one last swig of coffee and got up to get dressed, followed by Lorraine. They dressed and made their way down to the office just as the van was pulling up.

Philippe turned and whispered to Lorraine, “This isn’t a private tour?”

“We couldn’t get one, remember. There are only six other people—it’s a small group. Mingling with other people won’t kill us.”

“I hate tourists.”

“Well, then, you hate us, because we are both tourists. Think of them more as visitors.”

Philippe sighed as Lorraine climbed in the van and put his hand out to help Philippe in. Everyone smiled at them and they smiled back as they found a seat together, next to a couple who were speaking a language that they thought was German.

When they were all seated, the gentleman in the front passenger seat introduced himself as Adonis, their guide. He spoke first in English then in German.

Philippe turned and whispered to Lorraine, “He does look a little like a Greek god, don’t you think? Beautiful face—among other things.”

Lorraine knew Philippe was just trying to push his buttons and make him jealous. He chose not to respond.

Adonis told them that there would be a thirty-minute drive to Akrotiri on the southern tip of the island.

At that, Philippe sighed again, loudly. Lorraine took his hand and squeezed it. “Patience, love. Just think how much fun the wineries will be.”

“I hope they let us drink enough to get drunk.”

“Remember, we have a lot more to do after that so getting drunk is not a good idea. But we can get a little buzzed.” Philippe made an “hhrumpf” type of sound. Lorraine thought maybe they should have just cancelled and stayed at the hotel. He hated it when Philippe was in one of his moods.

Philippe and Lorraine didn’t speak much during that thirty-minute drive but listened to the chatter of the other passengers. Soon enough they pulled up to the excavation site. Philippe was surprised that the entire site was enclosed by a bioclimatic shelter and that only 3% of it had been excavated to date. A network of elevated walkways made it easy for them to view the site.

The guide told them Akrotiri had been an important hub in 18th and 17th BCE Minoan culture. Around 3600 years ago the people of Akrotiri had fled after earthquakes warned of an impending volcanic eruption. The volcano erupted with fury and buried the remnants of the town and preserved it until excavations began in 1967. It had been suggested that the site was inspiration for Plato’s writings about Atlantis.

During the tour, Philippe and Lorraine were able to view some of the beautiful frescos, the pottery and other artifacts that were a testament to the once thriving Minoan culture of the town. The guide also told them that remains of winemaking tools and equipment found there were a testament to the 4000-year-old tradition of wine-making in Santorini. That was the perfect lead up to their next destination, the Boutari winery.

They pulled up to the domed and clean-lined white building of the winery. Inside they learned about how the company, established in 1879, brought advanced winemaking technology to Santorini in the 1960’s. Of special interest, was the way the vines were grown. They were not grown on trellis’s but rather were grown close to the ground and pruned into a basket shape with the grapes protected in the center—a traditional Santorini method called kouloura. That way the vines could absorb moisture from the night fog that crept in along the ground and were low enough to be protected from the winds and intense sun of Santorini. Philippe and Lorraine were struck by the image of the sandy soil peppered with volcanic rock contrasted by the rows of small green-leaved mounds of the low growing vines. The wind and dry climate helped protect the vines from rot and the volcanic soil was immune to the disease, Phylloxera, and other pests. There was a delicate balance between the amount of sun and wind that would be beneficial and the amount that would destroy the vines. They were struck by the ingenuity that achieved that balance.

They toured the winemaking facilities as well as the cellar storage facilities and learned about the processes used to extract the juice from the grape and the fermentation process.

Lorraine told Philippe, “I never realized what an art it is to produce wine! I’ll never take a good glass of wine for granted again.”

“Love, I have never taken a good glass of wine for granted,” quipped Philippe.

“No, you don’t love. It’s only the best for you!”

“Oh, good, they are starting the wine tasting. Let’s go claim our spots.”

The winery had a small café where they offered wine tastings throughout the day along with plates of cheese, deli meat, and olives. They learned that Boutori was the first to offer tours and wine tasting. They learned most of their white wines were made from the Assyrtiko grape. The dessert wines combined some of the Aidani grapes with the Assyrtiko grape. The red wines used the Mandileria grape. All the grapes were indigenous to Santorini.

Philippe liked the Kallisti Reserve Boutari 2012 and arranged to have a case of the wine shipped to their home in Paris. He told Lorraine, “When we get home, we will have a reminder of our time here.” He also asked if he could order a full glass of the wine instead of just a taste. The guide tried to tell him, there would be more wine to taste, but Philippe insisted and got his glass. He ordered one for Lorraine, too.

After that, Philippe cheered up considerably. He just loved to demand special attention and get it. As they left the winery, Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine. “That was fun, love!”

Inside the van, Philippe put his arm around Lorraine, hugged him and kissed his forehead.

Their next destination was to the Gavalas family wineries where they learned the family had engaged in the vinification of the Santorini indigenous grapes since the end of the 19th century. Many of their vines had stock that could be traced back 150 years. They, too, used the basket method (koulouri) of growing their vines. Until the 1930’s the wines were sold almost exclusively in Santorini with some of it exported to Alexandria, Egypt. In the 1930s the family began exporting wine to Athens and Piraeus. The goat-skins of wine were loaded onto donkeys and taken to the port of Fira. There the wine was transferred to 600kg barrels (called bombs) and loaded onto caiques (small boats) that sailed to Piraeus. In 1973, the family opened a store in Athens to distribute the various Santorini wines. Today the Gavalas family exported their wine to an international market and was actively engaged in protecting the various indigenous grapes and producing limited bottlings of the rarer types.

At the wine tasting, Philippe was particularly taken with the Mavrotragano (mavro=black tragano=crisp) wine. It was a dry red wine produced from Santorini indigenous grapes that at one time were about to go extinct. Careful cultivation and preservation had made the wine one of the favorites of the indigenous red varietals on the island. Many of the wines that the Gavalas family bottled were only available in limited quantities due to the rarity of the indigenous grapes used. Again, Philippe asked for a glass of the Mavrotragano wine and ordered a case to be sent to his home.

As they were walking through the winery on the way back to the van, Lorraine said to Philippe, “Those two women have been staring at us a lot lately. Maybe you shouldn’t be quite so affectionate.”

“On the contrary, I think we should be more affectionate. Too bad if it makes them uncomfortable!” Philippe turned and put his arms around Lorraine and gave him a passionate, tongue probing kiss. When he was done, he took Lorraine’s arm in his and made a point of smiling at the women. The women shyly smiled back and twittered together casting furtive glances at Philippe and Lorraine.

Lorraine whispered, “They didn’t seem to be too shocked by the kiss. Do you think they are maybe fans of yours?”

“No, they don’t look like fans of rock n roll. They look more like society ladies than rock fans. They are a little too old and dressed much too nice.”

“Uh-oh, they are coming over here to talk to us.”

The two women approached Lorraine and Philippe shyly. The darker haired one spoke first, “Excuse me, but my friend and I think you look a lot like Philippe Lorraine, the famous designer.”

Lorraine perked up at that and assumed his air of swagger. “Why, yes, my dear. You and your friend are right. I am Philippe Lorraine of the well-known House of Lorraine in Paris. Who might you two lovely women be?”

They giggled together and the dark-haired one said, “So, is that Philippe Orleans, your new husband?”

Lorraine smiled and hugged Philippe’s arm, “Why yes, it is.”

“We read about your fabulous wedding but never dreamed we would meet you on your honeymoon! Mr. Lorraine, I love your designs and, when my husband allows me the money, I will buy one of your gowns for a charity event. I feel so good when I wear your clothes.”

“Where is that husband of yours? I must give him a talking to and tell him to give you all the money you need so you can buy more clothes.”

“Oh, he’s too busy to take vacations. My friend, Annie, here accompanies me on my travels, and to be honest, she is more fun than my boorish husband.” She put her arm around Annie and gave her a hug.

“Well, you two must sit with us at the next tasting, my dear. And may I ask your name?”

“Oh, I am Jill Astor, and this is Annie Mason. We are from Paris, too, and very involved in various charitable causes. We would love to sit and chat with you if it wouldn’t be an intrusion. I understand if you two might prefer to be left alone. I can see how much in love you are.”

“We would love to sit and chat with you, wouldn’t we, Philippe?”

“Uh, yes, sure. We would love it.” Philippe gave one of his half smiles that meant “If I am forced to.”

They were now at the van and Lorraine let the women enter first then followed with Philippe. They two airs had to sit in seats that were not close together, so their conversation ended.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “You know those ladies are going to ask you to appear at or contribute to one or more of those charitable events.”

“Well, I couldn’t be rude.”

“They gave you an out. You could have said that we would prefer our privacy.”

“Yes, I messed up. But the chances of meeting them again after this are low. We can spend ten minutes talking with them, can’t we?”

“Yes. There was something I noticed about them. Did you see the way she touched her friend?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Something tells me Jill might prefer the company of her friend, Annie, to her husband.”

“Are you trying to say they are more than just friends?”

“Just watch them together. That would be sad. To be married to someone who ignores you when you are really in love with someone else. Their generation was not so open as we are now. It must be very hard for them.”

Lorraine was puzzled, “How do you pick up on these things? I’m sure you are wrong about these ladies.”

“We’ll see when we sit down to talk with them. Just notice the way they look at each other and how they touch each other. I think you’ll see it now that I have brought your attention to it.”

It wasn’t long before they pulled up to the next winery, the Argyros Estate Winery. The winery was established in 1903 and was now run by the fourth generation of the Argyros family. Their vines were from 30 to 150 years old and grown in the kouloura method. They also used the Assyrtiko and other indigenous Santorini grapes to produce wines using traditional methods.

As promised, the ladies joined Lorraine and Philippe for the wine tasting. While they talked about their charities, they never once asked Lorraine or Philippe to appear or to help. Lorraine watched the ladies carefully and noticed the things Philippe had noticed. There was a tenderness in the way they touched each other. They put their arms on the table next to each other just touching. He could see the longing in their body language.

Philippe decided to address the situation. “You know it was hard for me when I first realized I preferred men. It was in the early days of my musical career and I wound up marrying a woman just to prove to myself I wasn’t gay. Needless to say, that ended in disaster. I went through so much heart ache that could have been avoided if I had only been honest with myself.”

Annie answered, “That must have been awful for you. Did your band mates give you a hard time?”

“Actually, no, they supported me. And protected me. I was quick to anger back then and got myself into a lot of fights. Also, they made sure my secret stayed secret until I was ready to acknowledge my preferences. We are so lucky that we can now just be ourselves.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine.

Lorraine saw the women look longingly at each other. “You know, we are all friends here, aren’t we? If there is something you’d like to express, we won’t mind.”

Both women’s eyes grew wide and it was Jill who asked shyly, “Are you saying you know about us?”

Philippe answered, “I see two people who love each other. That is all. It is a shame to keep that love hidden.” Philippe again, kissed Lorraine, tenderly. “It would kill me if I couldn’t show my affection for my love. Let people stare. The more we assert our right to love, the more used to it people will become. And one day no one will pay any attention at all.”

Annie put her hand in Jill’s.

Lorraine said, “That’s a good start. It will get easier. The hard part will be when you get back home and must face the people who are too blind to see and too prejudiced to understand.  Philippe and I wish you the best. Remember that we only have a limited time for our lives and must live them to the fullest.”

At those words, Annie turned to Jill with tears in her eyes and kissed her. Philippe and Lorraine both felt like cheering, but instead sat quietly.

The wine was brought out for testing and plates of cheese, meat and fruit were brought out. The tasting began. This time, Philippe asked for two glasses—one of the Estate Argyros Assyrtiko Santorini white wine and one of the Vinsanto Argyros dessert wine for him, Lorraine and the two ladies. Since it was the last stop of the day and they were ahead of schedule, the guide let them all order a glass of wine. Philippe arranged for a case of each to be sent home to Paris.

Lorraine joked, “Well, four cases of wine should last us about a week when we get home.”

“Are you saying I drink a lot of wine?”

“Not at all, dear. We will have great memories of Santorini when we drink that wine. And some interesting nights.”

Soon the tasting was over, and they were at the van. Philippe and Lorraine told the ladies it had been a pleasure to meet and talk with them and gave both them each a hug before they all got in the van. Annie and Jill were now holding hands all the time.

When Philippe and Lorraine got out of the van at their hotel, they realized they only had thirty minutes before the car would come to pick them up for the helicopter ride. They didn’t feel like trekking up to their villa only to come back down a few minutes later. They decided to go to the Asea lounge and get a snack and something to drink. They settled on a fruit and cheese plate to share and a glass of wine. Lorraine told Philippe that maybe they shouldn’t have more wine since they were going on a helicopter. Philippe insisted he never got airsick.

They finished the wine and the fruit and cheese plate and walked the short distance to the pickup area. The car pulled up a few minutes later and soon they were on their way. When the car arrived at the airport, they were met by one of the mechanics who walked them to the helicopter which was ready to take off.  They ducked as the mechanic had instructed them and climbed into the helicopter. Lorraine let Philippe take the front seat by the pilot and he took the back seat. He was concerned that, if Philippe was in the backseat, he might be more prone to get sick.  They put on the head phones, so they could speak to each other and the pilot. The helicopter took off as soon as they were buckled in.

The view was amazing. The sun was low in the sky but not yet setting. The sky was a beautiful turquoise blue with pink, orange and red clouds near the horizon where the setting sun was shining on them. The reflection of the sun on the water was bathed in pinks, purples and orange while the ocean was a deep blue on either side of the reflection. The helicopter made a stomach-turning change of direction, so they could see the white houses of Santorini bathed in purples, blues and pinks. The orange of the sun reflected brightly in the glass of the windows.

The helicopter made another turn to head out to sea. They could see various ships moving through the waters off Santorini. Because of the volcanic caldera that formed the island, large ships could not enter the waters over the caldera because the waters were not deep enough for the larger ships. However, many smaller ships and boats floated on the water.

As the sun dropped to the horizon, the colors intensified with more reds and oranges and deep blues. The island of Nea Kamini was breathtaking in the fading light. Lorraine noticed that Philippe was uncharacteristically quiet. “Philippe, are you okay? Isn’t this just beautiful?” Lorraine asked.

“Yes, beautiful.” He didn’t sound all that well.

Lorraine leaned forward and put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

The pilot added, “If either of you feel ill, there are bags on the right side of your seat.”

Philippe insisted, “I’m fine. But thank you for the information.” Lorraine noticed that Philippe put his hand down to feel for the bag.

The helicopter circled the area providing breathtaking views until the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars came out. Then it headed back to the airport and landed. Soon they were on their way to their next event—Dimitri’s Greek Taverna.

When they walked in, they were shown to a table by the center dance floor and offered something to drink. The restaurant offered unlimited soft drinks, water and wine with the meal. Of course, Lorraine and Philippe ordered the wine. They sat sipping their wine and watching the people coming in. The taverna was soon buzzing with excitement as they saw the wait staff filling up the buffet with Greek food. By now, Philippe and Lorraine could recognize most of the food: tomato keftedes, pork and chicken souvlaka, fava, the stuffed grape leaves (ntolmadakia), tzatziki, fried potatoes, various dips, breads, phyllo cheese pie squares, spaghetti in a tomato-olive sauce, salads, and fruits.

Philippe and Lorraine had paid for the deluxe dinner, so they could line up first with a few other of the deluxe diners.  Lining up was the part that Philippe hated about buffets. He felt like cattle lined up at a feeding trough. But he didn’t voice his dissatisfaction with the process because Lorraine had promised It would all be worth it in the end. They had had that good breakfast but had only had sample platters at each of the three wineries and the shared fruit and cheese platter at the Asea. Philippe wasn’t extremely hungry but knew if he was going to drink more wine, he needed to get something substantial in his stomach. He put a couple of the tomato keftedes on his platter along with one skewer of chicken souvlaka, one of the stuffed grape leaves, a spoon of the fried potatoes, and put some tzatziki on the tomatoes. He put some of the salad ingredients on a separate plate. This was the other thing he didn’t like about buffets. No matter how you tried, you always wound up putting more food on your plate than you really wanted. He sighed and went back to the table, followed by Lorraine who had also put his salad on a second plate and had a pretty full first plate.

Philippe ordered another glass of wine and slowly ate his food, enjoying the many textures and flavors. He and Lorraine debated which tomato fritters were better, those at the Charisma or these. Philippe liked the ones at Charisma because they used bigger chunks of tomato, while Lorraine liked these because they had more seasoning. They both agreed that the food at both places was excellent. Lorraine watched Philippe taking advantage of the unlimited wine and debated whether to say anything. Then he shrugged and decided, “What the hell! Let’s have a good time!” and ordered more wine for himself. The problem with ordering glasses as opposed to a bottle was that  it was harder to keep up with the number of glasses, whereas an empty bottle gave you a good idea of how much wine you had consumed.

As the lines at the buffet dwindled, the Greek musicians came in and took their place on the small stage by the dance floor. When they started playing, the atmosphere changed. The taverna was not a large or fancy place. The décor was simple and somewhat rustic, with whitewashed walls, black and white tile floors, wooden tables and chairs that had a hand-carved look to them, and simple cotton tablecloths. The people there were a casual mix of tourists and locals with lots of kids running around. It was a nice change from all the formal, fashionable restaurants. When the wait-staff started clearing out the buffet, the crowd got louder in anticipation of what was coming next. The free-flowing wine probably contributed to the enthusiasm.

The musicians began playing a very upbeat tune and a line of four (2 male, 2 female) dancers dressed in traditional folk costumes walked onto the dance floor. The men wore very full blue pants gathered at the knees that reminded Lorraine and Philippe of the pants they wore at Versailles. The men wore what looked like tights but ended at the shoes. Their plain white shirts were topped with blue vests. The women wore peasant style white blouses topped with a red dirndl vest. The skirts were very full, with the top layer in black, turned back at one side to expose a red lining. The underskirt was white and just a bit longer than the overskirt. They too, wore white stockings, but theirs went into their shoes.

They did a high stepping folk dance that had the crowd clapping and shouting along. At several points, the men took turns tossing each other into the air so the “tossee” could do a twirl and kick in the air and thrill the crowd by landing on his feet. After they finished their dance, a young man came out dressed in full, black knee-length pants, stockings and a black vest trimmed in red. He walked out to the center of the floor and bowed. People clapped and shouted encouragement. He walked over, grabbed one of the chairs and put it in the center of the floor. The musicians played a flourish and then played along as he climbed onto the chair and did an amazing dance that defied gravity with the chair tilted on two legs with him making dance moves on the top of it. An assistant came out and started throwing plates at him. He caught the plates and started twirling them as he balanced on the top of the chair. When he was done with the plates, he would let them crash to the floor to the cheers of the crowd.

Next a pair of traditional male dancers came out. They wore full white skirts that came to the knee, full white blouses with three-quarter length bell sleeves, the same white tights that ended at the brown shoes. There were large black “pom-poms” on the toes of the shoes. Black vests and waist sashes completed their outfits. They, too, had amazing foot work and gravity-defying moves that delighted the audience.

At this point, Philippe and Lorraine both were feeling no pain. At one point the dancers twirled and their skirts stood out almost like a ballet dancer’s tutu and Philippe leaned over and whispered in Lorraine’s ear a lewd comment about the men’s “large packages.” Lorraine laughed, and Philippe kissed him and made another comment about what he was going to do to Lorraine when they got back to the villa. At the end of their performance, the men invited the audience to join in the fun. Philippe drug Lorraine to the dance floor and joined those brave enough in a dance. They were handed plates that they were to wave around until they were told to throw onto the floor. Philippe and Lorraine danced with their arms around each other (mostly to help each other remain standing) and tried to keep up with the other dancers. At one point, Philippe tripped over his own feet and Lorraine managed to catch him before he hit the floor. They both laughed and stumbled on until it was time to throw the plates.

(Example of plate throwing <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUjrC8t6B2M>)

Lorraine and Philippe threw their plates then turned, embraced each other and kissed, long and passionately. The other dancers moved back to let them have the floor, but they were too busy in the kiss to notice. When they did finally end the kiss, the crowd roared its approval, startling the couple. They looked around and Lorraine decided to make the best of the situation. He grabbed Philippe’s hand whispered, “Bow!” in his ear, and pulled Philippe down with him in a dramatic, flourishing courtesy. Philippe went so low he almost went face first into the floor, but Lorraine’s strong grip barely kept him from it.  One of the waitstaff came forward and announced, “These two are on their honeymoon! A large Opa for them!” The crowd responded with a loud “Opa!”

The musicians started packing up their instruments and people started exiting the restaurant. Philippe and Lorraine realized the evening had ended. They settled their bill and went outside. The car they had ordered was there waiting for them. They stumbled to it and piled in. Lorraine pushed Philippe back onto the seat and kissed him, long and hard. He whispered in Philippe’s ear, “I’m going to fuck you when we get to the villa. I’ve been wanting to all day.”

Philippe’s answer was, “Not if I fuck you first!” He tried to flip Lorraine, so he could be on top, but Lorraine had him pinned.

Lorraine kissed Philippe’s neck as his hands went under Philippe’s loose shirt and caressed his chest, fingers twirling in is chest hair. Then his hands slid down to Philippe’s pants. Lorraine had designed this pair of vacation paint with buttons instead of a zipper. He began to slowly unbutton Philippe’s pants. They both knew it was a thirty-minute ride to the villa and Lorraine had decided to make use of the time. As he unbuttoned the last button, he slipped his hand in.

Philippe tried to protest reminding Lorraine they were in a car with a driver, but Lorraine’s response was, “I’ll give him a bonus, now lay back and enjoy this.” Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s hand made contact. Lorraine gave Philippe one more passionate kiss, then he slid down Philippe’s body until his mouth could take over from his hand. Philippe could see the lights of Santorini flashing by as he felt Lorraine stimulating him.  He closed his eyes as he succumbed to Lorraine’s attentions. He didn’t want to make noise that the driver could hear, but he couldn’t help it. Lorraine knew exactly how to extract as much pleasure as he could from Philippe and all Philippe could do was make small mumbling noises until that moment of release when he let out his moan followed by an “Oh, goddd” as he arched his back. Lorraine crawled back up to kiss Philippe after which Philippe mumbled, “We’re going to hell for this.”

“Yes, my dear. We paved that road for ourselves a long time ago.”

“The least you can do is button my pants back up. I feel a little exposed right now.”

Lorraine did as Philippe asked and they sat up. It wasn’t long before they were pulling up to the hotel. True to his word, Lorraine gave the driver a very large tip and bonus. Lorraine and Philippe walked, arms around each other’s waist, up the path to their villa, stopping along the way, a time or two, to kiss and look out at the view.

When they walked into the villa, Philippe wanted to order a bottle of wine, but Lorraine insisted they had already had enough, and more wine would just incapacitate them. Lorraine pushed Philippe towards the bedroom. Once inside, he kissed Philippe again, while his hands unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down. He stepped back and removed his own shirt and pants, then moved forward again to remove Philippe’s shirt. Philippe took the opportunity to kiss Lorraine’s neck. Lorraine responded by grabbing both of Philippe’s buttocks squeezing them and pushing Philippe’s body into his. He unexpectedly slapped Philippe’s ass and then told him to get on the bed. Philippe started to protest but Lorraine pushed him.

Philippe climbed on the bed and laid on his back. “You know you don’t have to be so pushy.”

Lorraine smiled slyly, “But you like me this way, don’t you? You like to be told what to do.” Lorraine bent down and kissed Philippe, running his hands all over his body. “Tonight, you do as I tell you.” Lorraine covered Philippe’s mouth with his, so he couldn’t respond and laid on top of Philippe as he kissed him passionately. He slowly slid down Philippe’s body caressing him as he went. When his feet touched the floor, he stood up and grabbed Philippe’s ankles and pulled him down to the edge of the bed. He got the flavored oil from the bedside table and began preparing Philippe and himself.

Philippe moaned as Lorraine entered him, pushing Philippe’s legs back towards his chest. Philippe made small moaning sounds as Lorraine slowly began thrusting. They both lost themselves in the act. Philippe made small whimpering sounds intermingled with, “Yes, love.” “Feels good.” “So good.” Lorraine moaned occasionally and ran his hands up and down Philippe’s legs, over his belly, then back to his legs. He draped Philippe’s legs over his shoulders, one at a time. Philippe moaned louder. Lorraine felt himself approaching climax and began to moan. Philippe heard him cry out, “Oh god” and felt Lorraine shudder. A bit later, Lorraine let Philippe’s legs slide off his shoulders and crawled on the bed, on top of Philippe and kissed him passionately. Then he laid his head on Philippe’s chest and lay breathing heavily.

Philippe wrapped his arms around Lorraine and held him, listening as Lorraine’s breathing slowed. Philippe dozed off and woke to feel his arm tingling. He tried to wake Lorraine, but Lorraine was sleeping soundly. Philippe managed to push Lorraine onto the bed beside him. He reluctantly got out of bed and pulled Lorraine into the proper position on the bed. He crawled in next to Lorraine and kissed him. Lorraine slept on.  He covered them both with a sheet and snuggled in beside the sleeping Lorraine.

It had been one hell of an exciting day and this was the perfect ending.

 


	48. When Three Is Not a Crowd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Lorraine order "take out" to add some variety to their sex life. Lorraine finds his next big model.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally figured out how to fix this. It all started with a chapter a while back I thought I had added but was saved as a draft. All is back the way it should be now. The glitch was mainly me.

Chapter 48

Lorraine woke the next morning with a headache. He felt Philippe’s arms around him, and he had his head nestled on Philippe’s chest. He looked up at Philippe expecting to see him sleeping, but instead saw that he was wide awake staring at the ceiling. “Morning, love. How long have you been awake?” Lorraine asked.

Philippe seemed surprised that Lorraine was awake and said, “Oh, good morning sleepy head. I haven’t been awake long.”

“And what were you thinking about so intently?”

“Nothing really.”

“You were thinking about something, now spill it!”

“I was just thinking how this is almost over and we’ll be going back home soon. And before long, I will be on tour.”

“Aren’t you excited about the tour?”

“No, not at all. I don’t want to go on it.”

“But, love, you have to go on tour to promote your record. Your fans will be expecting you to tour. Why do you not want to go on tour?”

“Because something bad is going to happen.”

“What? Did you have a dream about something bad happening? A premonition?”

“No, I just know me. You don’t understand the pressures a tour and performing almost every night puts on a person.”

“Are you afraid of going back on the drugs? What is it you are afraid you’ll do?”

“I know I am going to cheat on you. I will try with every ounce of my being not to, but it will happen.”

Lorraine did not know what to say to that.

“When you go on stage and the audience responds to you, it is such a high. It strokes your ego. You sing and perform, and it is like wooing the audience if it really clicks right. It builds until the end and, with any luck, you end with everyone on their feet and this huge euphoria between you and the audience. Then it is over, and you go backstage. There are people there complimenting you, making passes at you, offering you all kinds of things. There’s always alcohol and drugs—despite the best efforts of security, people can always smuggle in the drugs. They make you feel like a king, invincible, and the inhibitions drop. You feel the euphoria slipping away and you desperately want to make it last.”

“Is there any way you can avoid the backstage thing? Go straight to your room or something?”

“Oh, that is worse! Once you get past the backstage scene and are alone in your room, you hit a low. That is when the temptation to take drugs is the worst. That is also when there are at least one or two groupies who manage to get by security. Sometimes they will hide in the room for hours waiting for you to come back. One time I ordered something to eat because I was hungry. My waiter happened to be a fan who had begged and bribed people to get that shift. He brought in the food cart, then stripped naked and offered himself to me.”

Lorraine chuckled a little and asked, “And did you take him up on his offer?”

“How could I not? He was very good looking and he was very well endowed. Of course, that was when I smuggled my own drugs into my room, and I was already high.”

“But, love, that was a different you. Before you and I met. You don’t do drugs anymore.”

“Don’t you understand? Down inside I will always be the Philippe of my past. That will always be there to taunt me and lure me. Under normal circumstances, I know I am strong enough to resist. But on tour? Without you by my side? Without you to love and have sex with every night? I just can’t see me being able to do it.”

“You know that I will be making frequent trips to see you, don’t you? I’ve got the company jet and I can come at least several times a month. Maybe even every weekend. You could hold out for that, couldn’t you?”

Philippe didn’t answer the question and instead asked, “What about you? What are you going to do when I am not in your bed every night? How long can you go without sex? At what point does the urge become overwhelming and you look at some young, good-looking model and think one time won’t matter?”

“Philippe, I can’t answer that right now because I don’t know. We are going to have to discuss this seriously, but it is off in the future and right now we are together and on our honeymoon. Don’t let these things get you down.” Lorraine reached out his hand to pull Philippe’s face towards his, so he could kiss him softly.

Lorraine moved to crawl on top of Philippe and took his face in both his hands and kissed him again. “I know you love me, and you know I love you. Right now, that is all that matters.” He kissed Philippe again, this time with tongue. When the kiss ended, Lorraine stroked Philippe’s face gently.

“My agenda for the day is this: make love to you, shower, eat breakfast, shop, eat lunch, shop, eat dinner and make love again tonight,” Lorraine said.

“What is all this shopping you want to do? You do know we only have today and tomorrow left?”

“Yes. I’ve seen enough volcanoes and wineries and ruins. I want to walk through the beautiful streets of Oia and visit as many of those lovely shops that we can. I want to buy gifts for Fabien and Claudine and something for Leo for holding the fort down at work. I’ve got other staff members I need to get a little something for. I want to buy a few things for myself and for you. And I want to look for just the perfect large painting of the ocean to put in our bedroom, so we can look at it and pretend we are back here. And the concierge has recommended so many great little restaurants that I want to try. What else is there to life but food, sex and spending money?”

“You forgot wine.” Philippe kissed Lorraine and tried to turn him, but Lorraine was firmly planted on top of Philippe.

“I’m already on top and I plan on staying that way, so relax.” Lorraine said before giving Philippe a long, passionate kiss. He pushed his hair aside and began nibbling his ear lobe, blowing in his ear, and sticking his tongue in it. His lips moved on to Philippe’s neck. That lovely neck he loved so much!

Philippe’s hands stroked Lorraine’s back, traced along the bumps of his spine, then across the planes of his shoulder blades. Philippe’s skin was soft and pliant under Lorraine’s fingertips. Lorraine could feel the firmness of muscle and the hardness of bone. Lorraine pushed his body against Philippe’s body, rubbing his bare skin against Philippe’s bare skin. He could feel Philippe’s cock pushing against him just below his own belly while his own cock was between Philippe’s thighs. Both were rapidly responding to the stimulation.

Lorraine ran his lips across a nipple, kissed Philippe’s chest then he ran his tongue down Philippe’s sternum to his belly. He ran his tongue and lips across to Philippe’s hip then back to the other hip. He could feel Philippe tensing in anticipation as his lips and mouth sucked their way back to Philippe’s belly and moved downward and ever closer to his target. Philippe moaned when Lorraine’s hand wrapped around his cock. Lorraine’s lips sucked everywhere except where Philippe wanted.

“Love, please, stop teasing!” he begged.

Still, Lorraine sucked and kissed all around the target. Philippe slipped his fingers through the hair on the back of Lorraine’s head and gently tried to guide it, but to no avail. “Love, please,” Philippe begged.

“Please what?” Lorraine asked.

“You know what I want.”

“No, I don’t. I’m not a mind-reader. Tell me. What do you want?”

“Damn it, suck my cock.”

“How very romantic you sound.”

“The time for romance has passed. I need it. Now. No more teasing, no more playing around.”

“You mean this?” Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s lips made the desired contact.

“Oh god, yes.” Philippe was making small happy noises as Lorraine’s mouth did its work. Philippe encouraged Lorraine with the occasional “You’re so good, love” or  “Oh god, that’s it” uttered between his happy noises. Lorraine increased his efforts as Philippe’s moans increased. A loud moan followed by “Yeessss! Oh god, yesss!” signaled Philippe’s climax. Philippe’s hands grasped the sheet and he arched his back. Lorraine felt the pulsing of Philippe’s cock and tasted the saltiness of his seed.

Lorraine made his way back up to Philippe’s lips and kissed him. After the kiss, Philippe grasped Lorraine’s upper arms and rolled the two of them until he was on top of Lorraine. He put his mouth onto Lorraine’s and kissed him tenderly. His lips moved to Lorraine’s neck then slowly kissed their way down to just above Lorraine’s belly. Philippe knew Lorraine was ready for him, but he wanted to tease. It was Lorraine’s turn to beg.

As he kissed his way around the soft skin on Lorraine’s belly, his hands slipped down to the outside of Lorraine’s thighs. He moved his hands down using a kneading action to Lorraine’s knees then back up the top of his thighs, then down again. Next, he moved his hands to the inside of Lorraine’s thighs and moved them slowly up until they reached his groin area. At the same time, he moved his mouth down to below his belly teasing Lorraine who writhed in anticipation.

“Philippe, please!”

“Please, what?” Philippe’s fingers tantalized and teased as did his mouth.

“Stop teasing me! Get on with—uhnnnn.” Lorraine threw his head back and groaned as Philippe’s mouth made contact. Philippe’s mouth had Lorraine moaning and writhing before he expressed his climax with a loud, “Oh damn. Oh godddd!”

Philippe crawled back up to kiss Lorraine and the two lay for a while wrapped in each other’s arms. Lorraine said, “I’m going to miss this place. Miss these quiet mornings with you.”

“You sound like you think we aren’t going to ever have sex again.”

“No, you misunderstand. I mean that there is no pressure. Here, we can make love just about any time we want. We can just lay here and enjoy being close. When we get back, there will be other things—my work, your music—that will require our attention. We’ll have to fit in these moments among all the other things.”

“Well, if we could just lay around and have sex all the time, we’d both get tired of it after a while. This is special because we know it will end. Sex will be special when we get back because we will have to make time for it. But I have enjoyed this, very much.” They kissed, very tenderly. Lorraine stroked Philippe’s face and kissed him again.

“Shall we go take a shower, so we can get some shopping in before it gets too hot?” Lorraine asked.

“You go start the shower, I’m going to order some breakfast. I think I just want coffee, some fresh bread and honey. Maybe a little fruit, too. How about you?”

“The same for me.”

They got up and Lorraine went to get the shower going while Philippe ordered the breakfast. When Philippe went into the bathroom, Lorraine was already in the shower. Philippe joined him and pushed him against the shower wall and kissed him. “Turn around and I’ll wash your back for you,” Philippe instructed. Lorraine turned, and Philippe grabbed a loofah and the bodywash and began lathering Lorraine’s back.

“Oooh, that feels good.” Lorraine sighed.

Philippe washed his butt, then each leg. “Now, turn and let me do your front.”

Lorraine turned and said, “Don’t forget we have food coming in a bit,” as he turned to face Philippe.

“What? You don’t want me to get you excited again?” Philippe began washing Lorraine’s neck, chest then skipped down to his legs. “You can do the rest, then,” he said as he handed the loofah to Lorraine. Lorraine took care of himself, then began washing Philippe. They finished off by washing each other’s hair. After rinsing off, they stepped out and toweled each other dry.

They heard someone at the door and put on robes to go out and let room service in. They went back in to the bathroom to comb out their hair, so it wouldn’t dry frizzy. Afterwards they went to the table to eat their breakfast.

“I think tomorrow we should try that Turkish coffee,” Philippe said.

“I’ve had it before and didn’t like it much. They grind the beans up very fine and leave them in the coffee. You must keep swirling your cup to keep it all evenly suspended. But you can order it if you want and I will order regular.”

“I still want to try it. Oh, this bread is still hot from the oven—very fresh. This food is so good. I don’t know what they do to their honey, but it seems extra sweet.”

“Yes, the fruit is ripe and sweet as well. I will miss the quality of the food.”

“Talking about food, what is on the menu for lunch today?” asked Philippe.

“Lunch? We haven’t even finished breakfast! If you must know, the concierge recommended Ammoudi’s Fish Tavern.”

“Great! We haven’t had any seafood, yet. I think I’d like to try octopus.”

“You, Mr. Finicky Eater, want to try octopus?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want a whole one with eyes and wiggly legs on my plate. But I’ve heard it can be good if prepared right. We’ll have to ask the concierge the best preparation and places to get it.”

Loraine just shook his head. They continued to eat their breakfast and enjoyed their coffee before getting dressed. They stopped at the office to talk to the concierge about the octopus. He suggested fried or grilled and said that their dinner destination, Orchidae, offered a great grilled octopus. Their lunch destination Ammoudi’s also had some good octopi offerings as well as other seafood. The concierge also gave them a map of Oia showing the various shops and wished them a very good day.

Map in hand, they set out to explore Oia and do some shopping. Lorraine and Philippe both loved shopping and had a good time going over all the merchandise for sale. They found a perfect masculine-styled necklace for Fabien featuring leather, akoya pearls, turquoise and polished black obsidian. There were too many options for Claudine for them to decide on. They took a business card from the various shops and wrote down on the back the information of the items sold there, so they could decide and  come back later. They did the same for the painting for their bedroom. About one in the afternoon, they were hungry and decided they needed to break for lunch and headed to Ammoudi’s. They had plotted their course to be close to it by this time, so they didn’t have far to go.

They sat down at a table with a great view of the ocean and the bay. They ordered an unusual cocktail made with Vinsanto dessert wine with strawberries, thin pear slices and pomegranate juice to start. It was very refreshing. Lorraine ordered a Greek salad while Philippe ordered a Santorini salad to start. They decided to get the two-person grilled seafood platter that featured grilled prawns, calamari, octopus, fish and mussels. For dessert, they split a kataifi—similar to baklava but made with crispy fried kataifi dough filled with ground walnuts, cinnamon and cloves. After the meal, they had one more glass of wine while plotting out their afternoon on the map.

Several shops later they found the painting they wanted. It was four by five feet and featured a beautiful view very similar to the view they had from their balcony. It was taken about an hour before sunset, when the sun was getting low on the horizon and the sky and ocean were tinted with glorious pinks and lavenders. They arranged for the painting to be crated for safe shipping, then sent to the airport the morning of their departure to be loaded onto the jet.

They decided on a necklace for Claudine and went back to the shop to get it. They decided to head back to the villa since it was getting hot out. They arrived back at the villa about three-thirty and decided to take a nap. They took a quick shower, dried each other off, and climbed into bed together. Philippe had called to set up a wakeup call at six-thirty, so they had time to get dressed for their evening reservations at Orchidea. In bed they cuddled together and kissed.

“Do you want to have sex?” Philippe asked.

“Yes, but I think I am too exhausted. Can we wait until tonight?”

Philippe kissed Lorraine softly, “Yes, I am pretty exhausted, too. Walking in that heat takes it out of you, doesn’t it?”

Lorraine had closed his eyes and murmured, “Yes, it does, love.” Philippe kissed him softly again and settled in next to him. It didn’t take long for the two of them to drift off. The phone rang for their wakeup call and Philippe answered it. After he hung up, he looked down at Lorraine. Lorraine had stirred when the phone rang but had settled back to sleep. Philippe looked down at the peacefully sleeping Lorraine. The love he felt for Lorraine made his heart ache. The wedding and the honeymoon had brought him so much happiness. He thought back to his life and how very little happiness he had felt until he was back with Lorraine. He knew Lorraine returned that love. However, he thought back to the times when what little happiness he had, had been ripped from him. He just couldn’t shake that feeling that this, too, was going to be ripped from him.

He tried to remember back to that life at Versailles, when the two of them had been together most of their lives. Even then, there had been the hard times. Times when he was away at war. Times when the Chevalier had been exiled. There was no marriage to bind them together and there was always the threat of Louis breaking them apart. That threat made the Chevalier insecure, and sometimes he did stupid things when his insecurities got the better of him. The marriage to Liselotte had been rough on the relationship, especially in the beginning. It was ironic how Philippe now was the insecure one and Lorraine the more level-headed one. Philippe just had to believe that he and Lorraine would find a way to stay happily together in this life. To do that, Philippe had to find a way to eradicate the part of himself that would sabotage this relationship. That earlier part of himself that had only known misery.

He shook himself out of his reverie and bent down to kiss Lorraine gently. “Love, it is time to get up and get ready for our dinner reservation.”

Lorraine stirred and opened his eyes to see Philippe looking down at him again. “I didn’t hear the phone.”

“I did. Now, let’s get up and get dressed.”

Lorraine stretched and yawned as Philippe got out of bed. Philippe reached out his hand and took Lorraine’s and dragged him to the edge of the bed. Lorraine yawned and complained, “What’s your hurry. Let me wake up first.”

Philippe let go of Lorraine’s hand and said, “Ok, have it your way, then.” He walked over to the closet to decide what to wear that night. “I think I will wear this blue with the silver threads.”

Lorraine was sitting on the edge of the bed, now. “That looks very good on you, love.”

Soon they were dressed and walking down to the pickup area where their car was waiting for them. They had a thirty-minute drive to the restaurant. They sat arms around each other, kissing from time to time and looking out at the views passing them by. At the restaurant, they were seated on the outside terrace where they could see the moonlight on the ocean.

“Gorgeous view isn’t it?” Lorraine asked.

“Yes, it is. This place is just beautiful, no matter where you are. Oh, my. Don’t look now, but our server is damned nice, too.”

Of course, Lorraine had to turn around and look. Their server was in his early twenties, had a head of dark curls, a beautiful face with a strong jaw line, shapely full lips, a long straight nose, and beautiful brown eyes. He had a finely chiseled body to match his good facial features, showcased by the white shorts and tee shirts all the servers wore. The server noticed Lorraine turn to look at him and smiled. Lorraine smiled back and turned back to Philippe, rolling his eyes and blushing.

Philippe had not taken his eyes off the server as the server stepped up and introduced himself, “Good evening gentlemen. My name is Nikolas and I will be your server tonight.”

Philippe smiled and said, “Good evening, Nikolas. We will start off with a bottle of the 2016  Argyros Estate Assyrtiko wine.”

Nikolas responded with, “That is a very good wine, but we have the same wine in a limited release that has been French Oak fermented. It costs just a little more, but it has a deeper flavor.” Nikolas smiled back at Philippe. “Of course, it is best with seafood and cheese courses, so if you are ordering meat courses, you might reconsider.”

“I think we will be ordering seafood tonight so please get us a bottle of the French oak fermented wine, then.”

“Good. Will you want appetizers?”

“Yes, I will have the tomato keftedes,” Philippe answered.

“That is a very good specialty here in Santorini made with a type of tomato that is only grown here on the island.” Nikolas turned to Lorraine and smiled, “And you, sir?”

“I would like the grilled prawn appetizer, please.” Lorraine wasn’t sure he liked how Philippe and Nikolas were flirting.

“Very good. All our seafood was caught fresh today. I will be back with the wine and get your meal orders.” Nikolas turned and walked slowly away, well aware that Philippe was watching.

Lorraine kicked Philippe under the table.

“What the hell?”

“You do know this is supposed to be a romantic meal for the two of us? I’m feeling a little neglected with you flirting with that server.”

“Sorry, I was just having a little fun. I thought you might want to flirt, too.”

“You are not thinking of inviting him back to the villa with us, then?”

“No! I just wanted to see how far he would go to get a good tip from us and have a little fun along the way. I am very much looking forward to things I am going to do to you tonight. Just you and me.” Philippe reached across the table and ran his hand down Lorraine’s face. Lorraine turned slightly to kiss Philippe’s fingers. Then reached to take Philippe’s hand in his.

They were still holding hands when Nikolas came back with the wine. He smiled at the two of them. “You two wouldn’t be on your honeymoon, would you?”

Philippe was quick to answer, “Yes, we are. This has been a wonderful place to honeymoon.”

“You make a handsome couple,” Nikolas said as he was opening the wine. He offered the cork for Philippe’s inspection, then poured a small amount into the glass for him to taste.

“Very good! Yes, I can taste the difference that the French oak barrels make. Thank you for this recommendation.”

“You are welcome.” Nikolas poured glasses for them. He turned to Lorraine first and asked, “Have you made a choice for your meal, yet?”

“Yes, I would like the lobster with eggplant, please.”

“Very good choice. And you sir?” he turned to Philippe.

“The lobster with linguine, please.”

“The lobster is a very good choice and is good in both preparations. It is lightly grilled, not steamed. I will bring your appetizers out shortly.”

Nikolas walked off and this time Lorraine turned to watch, too. Lorraine sighed, “Yes, that is a mighty fine walk and a mighty fine ass. You have good taste, Philippe.”

Philippe smiled and said, “Yes, I know. I chose you, didn’t I?”

Philippe had taken off his shoes and reached out to run a bare foot up and down Lorraine’s leg under the table. Lorraine smiled at Philippe.

It wasn’t long before Nikolas was back with the appetizers. “How is the wine?”

“Very good,” Philippe told him.

“Here is some tzatziki, fresh cheese and crisp-baked bread wedges, my treat to you honeymooners.”

“Why thank you, Nikolas!” Lorraine answered. Philippe also thanked him. Both watched as Nikolas walked away. Lorraine said, “Maybe we should rethink that three-way sex thing.”

“No way. I don’t want to compete with that. He is too perfect.” Philippe moved his foot to between Lorraine’s leg and ran his foot up trying to reach for his crotch but couldn’t quite reach it. He scooted his chair in but that didn’t help either.

“Careful, dear. Don’t fall out of your chair. You can touch me all you want when we get back to the villa.”

Philippe sat up straight in his chair and started eating his tomato keftedes. “Do you think Marda could learn how to make these?”

“We could ask her. But she’d have to use very ripe tomatoes to get the same flavor. These prawns are great. Do you want one?”

“Yes, I’ll trade it for a tomato keftede.”

Lorraine peeled one of the prawns and fed it to Philippe. In return he fed one of the tomato cakes to Lorraine. Lorraine took Philippe’s hand and sucked his fingers when he was done eating the tomato cake. Philippe took back his hand to pour them each another glass of wine.

“Let’s toast to the two of us and what we are going to do when we get back to the villa!” They touched glasses and took a long swig of their wine, smiling longingly at each other.

Lorraine leaned forward and said, “Let’s seal that with a kiss.” They leaned forward and kissed over the table. Nikolas came back with their lobster plates and took their appetizer plates away. The smells from their plates made their mouths water.

Lorraine cut off a piece of lobster and put it in his mouth. “Oh my god, this is the best lobster I have ever had. It is cooked perfectly, and the sauce is amazing. How is yours?”

Philippe took a bite and nodded. “Yes, it is very good! I’ll never want steamed lobster again! Can I have a bite of one of your eggplants? I’ll give you some of this linguine. It’s great.” They fed each other tastes from their plates.

Nikolas was back to ask them how their entrees were.

“Excellent! The lobster is cooked to perfection.” Lorraine answered.

Philippe said, “Yes, I think it is the best lobster I have ever had. Could we please have another bottle of the same wine?” Philippe had just poured what was left of their first bottle into their glasses.

Nikolas replied, “Certainly!” and removed the empty bottle. “I am glad you like your food.”

Nikolas left and came back with a new bottle of wine. After he had opened it and let Philippe taste it, he asked, “Would you like me to put in an order for a dessert? I highly recommend either the baklava or the galaktoboureko, although all the desserts are wonderful.”

“We are familiar with baklava, but not the second thing.” Lorraine said.

“Galaktoboureko is made with phyllo wrapped around a delicious custard and topped with honey. It was always my favorite dessert as a child.”

“Give us one of both and we will share them.”

“Okay, I will put the order in when I see you are almost done with your entrees. The galaktoboureko is best hot out of the oven.”

“Thank you, Nikolas.” Philippe answered.

They continued eating the lobster and drinking their wine, chatting about the purchases they had made that day and discussing what else they needed tomorrow.

“I want to buy us each one of those Greek dancer costumes,” Philippe announced.

“Why?”

“I want to have a Greek party when we get back and I want us to dress up for it. I like those skirts they wore and can just see you in one twirling for me. Maybe we could find a place to learn Greek dancing. Maybe even hire a small Greek band to play. I’m sure there is bound to be some in Paris.”

“I’m always up for a party. It sounds like it could be fun. I’d like to see you twirling in that skirt without tights after everyone has gone.” Lorraine gave Philippe a sultry look.

Philippe looked back at him and said, “Yes, I can just imagine that. Reaching up under that skirt… Yeah! We definitely have to get two of those costumes.” Philippe reached across the table to kiss Lorraine again, this time with a little tongue. When they were done, Philippe moved his chair around to be closer to Lorraine and moved his plate and place setting as well. “Should’ve done this in the beginning!” he said. Now they could eat a little, take a drink of wine, and snuggle and kiss a little. The wine was making them a little tipsy and quite affectionate.

The second bottle of wine went a lot faster than the first. Philippe poured the last two glasses and asked Lorraine if they should order another bottle.

“I don’t think so. We’re almost finished. Maybe we could order a glass of the Vinsanto dessert wine with our desserts.”

“Good idea. Not only are you good-looking, you are smart, too.” Philippe kissed Lorraine.

Nikolas came back to tell them the desserts were almost ready. He began clearing away the plates.

Philippe told him. “I hope our open affection doesn’t make your other customers uncomfortable.”

“Not at all. It is obvious you two are very much in love. We Greeks love to see any two people in love. There should be more love in the world. As I said, you two make a very handsome couple. Is there anything else I can get you with your dessert?”

“Yes, two glasses of your best Vinsanto dessert wine, please,” Philippe said.

“That would be our Vinsantos Trygos 2005. But it is only available as a bottle, not by the glass. But we have a couple of good Vinsantos by the glass.”

“That Trygos sounds very good. I’d like to try it. Are you sure we couldn’t have a couple of glasses?”

“Okay, we aren’t really supposed to do this, but if you wanted the bottle, we have stoppers so that you could take what you didn’t drink with you. We don’t have a license for take-out alcohol, but we could make an exception in this case.”

“Would you? That would be great! Yes, order us a bottle of the Trygos!” Philippe told Nikolas.

After Nikolas walked away, Lorraine told Philippe, “You fell right into that one!”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t have any idea how expensive that wine is. He probably makes a commission or something off selling the more expensive wines. At the least, it raises our final bill and gives him a better tip. Besides you are a sucker for bending the rules. It gives you a kick knowing you got away with something.”

“I resent that.”

“Resent it all you want. You know it is true. But that’s okay. That’s just one of the little quirks that make you Philippe. I love you and all your little quirks.”

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess it is okay.”

Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe.

A few minutes later Nikolas came back with the desserts. Another server followed with the wine and a fresh bucket of ice. Nikolas gave them their desserts and took the wine and the bucket from the other server who took the empty bottle and the old bucket away. Nikolas opened the wine, let Philippe inspect the cork and poured a taste into a glass for him.

“Oh, this is very good. Thank you for recommending it!”

“You are very welcome. You two have been my favorite customers tonight. You both seem like such nice people. And I love the affection you have for each other.” Then he leaned over and said quietly, “I imagine when you two get back to your lodging, that you are going to have very hot sex together.” Nikolas winked and smiled.

Philippe smiled and couldn’t help but to boast, “Lorraine has many fine qualities, but the best thing I like about him is that he knows exactly how to please me.”

“So, I guess, you wouldn’t be interested in maybe adding a little variety to your love making?”

“Variety? We can always use a little variety.” The wine had loosened Philippe’s tongue and slowed his thought processes. Lorraine , however, thought he knew what was coming next.

“On occasion, I like to get with a loving couple and offer them my services to enhance their lovemaking.”

Lorraine just had to ask, “So, do these services cost money?”

Nikolas looked offended and said, “I am not a prostitute if that is what you are implying. No, I do not ask for money or any  compensation. I do it for my own pleasure. And I am very careful who I do it with. I’m sorry if I misinterpreted your signals.” Nikolas turned and walked away.

“Why did you have to get him mad at us? I was interested in hearing him out.”

“So, you’d like him to come to the villa and join us for sex tonight?”

“Oh, is that what he was talking about? Well. He is damned good looking. I could think of a couple of things I’d like to do to him. I bet you’d have fun, too, if you weren’t so jealous and possessive. It is just sex after all. It wouldn’t mean I’d love you any less.” Philippe drank his wine quickly and poured another glass for himself.

Lorraine knew Philippe was going to pout until he got his way. “You know this could be dangerous. He could be setting us up to be robbed or worse.”

“Crossing the street is dangerous but we do it every day.”

They ate their desserts without talking. Lorraine finished his glass of wine and had another. Philippe also filled his glass again. Nikolas came back to check if they needed anything. As he walked away Lorraine stared at him. He was a very good-looking man. Lorraine knew that if Philippe didn’t get his way, they probably wouldn’t have very good sex, if they had sex at all. When Philippe didn’t get what he wanted, he could be very hard to deal with.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Lorraine said.

“Do what exactly?” Philippe queried.

“Ask him to come to our villa and add some variety to our sex tonight.”

“You are serious, right?”

“Yes. Why not? Like you said, it is just sex. There was a time when it would have been me suggesting this. I guess I have gotten quite jealous and possessive of you. I need to lighten up a little and let us have fun.” Lorraine downed what was left in his glass.

Philippe poured them both another glass which emptied the bottle. He laughed, “Guess Nikolas won’t have to worry about breaking the rules for us!”

Nikolas made an appearance. “I see you have finished off that bottle of wine. Is there anything else I can get you two?”

Philippe answered, “That wine was excellent, thank you. And yes, there is one more thing we need.”

Nikolas answered, “And what would that be?”

Lorraine answered this time, “You. We have decided to take you up on your offer to add variety to our evening. And I am sorry for that money quip. I can be quite pessimistic at times.”

“You both want this? I don’t want to do anything that is going to make either of you uncomfortable or angry.”

Again, Lorraine answered, “Yes, we both want you to come to our villa tonight.”

“Then I will come. You are my last customers. I came in early today because one of the day shift needed to leave early to go to a friend’s wedding. All I have to do is close you out and I am done for the night. Where are you staying?”

“In Oia, at the Mystique Hotels in the Mystery Villa.”

Nikolas looked very impressed. “That’s a very nice place. And very private. There is just one problem. I don’t have a car. I get around on a bicycle. It may take me a while to get there.”

“You could ride with us. We have a private car and we can arrange for you to take it back home after we are done.” Philippe suggested.

“That would be so kind of you. I’ll only be about ten minutes. You don’t mind waiting for me?”

“No, we’ll find something to occupy ourselves while we wait.” Lorraine answered and gave Philippe a sly smile.

“I’ll be right back with the bill, then.”

It didn’t take long to settle the bill, then they went out to the car to wait on Nikolas.

In the car, Philippe kissed Lorraine. “Thank you, love for being so understanding. I know you have reservations about this, but I think it is going to be fun.”

Before Lorraine could answer, Philippe was kissing him again, very passionately, with lots of tongue. He was trying to push Lorraine back onto the seat, but Lorraine was resisting. He finally was able to push Philippe back a little, so he could talk. “Philippe, Nikolas will be here any minute. I’d rather him not find you on top of me.”

“And why not?” Philippe covered Lorraine’s mouth with his own so Lorraine couldn’t speak. He was passionate with Lorraine but didn’t try to push him onto the seat again. Philippe knew if this night was going to work, he needed to be very aware of Lorraine’s feelings.

There was a tap on the window and Philippe and Lorraine disengaged and Lorraine reached over and opened the door to let Nikolas in.

Before Nikolas got in, he asked, “I’m going to ask you one more time. Do you both want this?”

They both answered yes in unison. Nikolas smiled and got in the backseat next to Lorraine.

Lorraine said, “Tell us a little about yourself.”

“Not much to tell. I grew up here on the island. I live with my family not too far from the restaurant. I let them know I was going out with friends after work and would be home late. I have two sisters and three brothers. I am the youngest, so I am the baby. My mother is a seamstress and my father works on the docks unloading fish as do my brothers. One brother is married and has a son. He and his wife live on the same block with us. My two sisters are married, each with two children, so far. Their husbands also work on the docks. I worked on the docks until I got this job at the restaurant. The docks are hard work. I prefer the restaurant. I love to be around people. But sometimes when the fish are running well, I go to help out on the docks. That is about it for me. What about you?”

Lorraine spoke first, “I’m a fashion designer in Paris. I design, make and sell clothes for men and women.”

Nikolas looked surprised, “One of the servers tried to tell me you were a famous fashion designer. I thought they were just teasing me. They said something about you had a place called the House of Lorraine? I don’t follow fashion.”

“Yes, that is my fashion house. That’s where I serve my customers. You can call me Lorraine. Both of our first names are Philippe, so it is easier for people to call me Lorraine. He is Philippe d’Orleans.”  
  
Nikolas’s mouth dropped. “You are the famous rock star! One of my brothers is a big fan of yours!”

“Then I’ll have to send you home with an autograph. I didn’t bring any pictures or DVDs or anything to give away.”

“And why should you? It’s your honeymoon! I am so humbled to be in both of your presences.”

Philippe said, “Don’t be humble. We are just people. We have flaws just like everybody else. You are a hardworking young man and that is an honorable and good thing to be. If you don’t mind me asking, do you have a uh… I guess it would be boyfriend?”

“No. Not now. I had a four-year relationship, but that ended. I work a lot and don’t go out much. If you want to know, I do practice safe sex and have annual check-ups. I just had one a few weeks ago. I am disease-free, and I haven’t been with anyone since my check-up.”

Lorraine spoke for the two of them, “Philippe and I also get checkups routinely—his record company requires them. We are both disease-free, too. We would not have asked you to do this if we weren’t. Good, now that’s out there and we can go on to other things.”

Philippe asked, “Is there anything, sexually, you don’t like to do?”

“I don’t like to be tied up or hurt. I am not in to that sort of thing. Other than that, I can’t think of anything. But I haven’t been with a lot of people, so I don’t know a lot of different things. I’m willing to try anything as long as it doesn’t hurt.”

Lorraine answered, “Good! We don’t like to be hurt or to hurt each other.”

“I’ve been told I have a very talented mouth, if that interests you.”

Philippe said, “That sounds promising. I’ll order a bottle of wine from room service. Lorraine and I probably don’t need a whole lot more, but I imagine you might like to wind down a little after work.”

“Thank you, I don’t drink much wine, but I would like some tonight.”

They talked about general things. Nikolas told them about some of the more interesting things that had happened at the restaurant and about some of the more interesting customers he had served.

Soon, the car pulled up to the hotel drop off area. Nikolas got out and held the door open for Lorraine. The driver held the door for Philippe on the other side. Philippe went in to the office and ordered two bottles of wine since he thought one bottle might not be enough for the three of them. He also ordered a cheese and fruit platter with bread. He and Lorraine were full, but he wasn’t sure if Nikolas had eaten.

Then they started the trek up to their villa. Philippe and Lorraine had to stop a couple of times, but Nikolas was in very good physical shape. On the second stop, Lorraine and Philippe stood on either side of Nikolas and each put an arm around his waist. They finally made it to the villa and went in.

Nikolas saw the pool outside and exclaimed, “You have your own private pool? Wow!”

Lorraine looked at Philippe and smiled. Lorraine said, “We can take a dip in it in a bit if you want.”

They showed Nikolas around the villa which didn’t take long. Room service showed up with the wine and platter. Nikolas was thankful for the fruit and cheese because he had not eaten since before his shift. He made a good dent in the platter and downed two glasses of wine.

Philippe suggested they bring the wine and the platter out on the deck. On their way out, Lorraine went to the bedroom to get some oil. He thought it was better to be prepared than to spoil the mood to come back in to get it. Outside, Philippe and Nikolas had taken off their clothes to get into the pool. Lorraine walked out just in time to see Nikolas make a perfect dive into the water. Philippe jumped in feet first.  Lorraine hurried to take off his clothes and join them.

Nikolas was like a fish in the water.  He could swim underwater for a decent amount of time and teased Lorraine and Philippe by swimming around and between them, pinching their asses as he passed by. He was too quick for them to reciprocate. But he eventually had to come up for air and that is when they caught him. They took turns holding him while the other pinched his ass. They both managed to cop a good feel of his very firm, strong ass. The play in the water helped them to drop their inhibitions.

Nikolas whispered to Lorraine, “Let’s pin Philippe against the wall and do stuff to him.” Lorraine wasn’t sure what “stuff” Nikolas was talking about, but it sounded like a good idea. They both swam at Philippe and pushed him against the wall. Nikolas told Lorraine to kiss Philippe and keep him pinned but to stand a little to the side of him. Lorraine kissed Philippe and held his shoulders against the side of the pool. Nikolas dived underwater and found Philippe’s floating cock. Nikolas took it in his hand and guided it into his mouth. Lorraine heard the moan from Philippe and looked down to realize what Nikolas was up to. Philippe was no longer struggling. Lorraine kissed him long and hard, wondering how long Nikolas could stay underwater. After what seemed like an eternity but was only about two and a half minutes, Nikolas surfaced for air.

Lorraine’s attention was on Philippe as he kissed him and sucked on his neck. He heard Nikolas dive back down and assumed Nikolas was going for Philippe again, but was totally surprised when he felt Nikolas’s mouth on his own cock. It was Lorraine’s turn to moan. Philippe grinned and kissed Lorraine. They both thought that Nikolas’s mouth WAS very talented. Nikolas took a couple more dives until he had both cocks hard, then he climbed out of the pool.

“Where are you going?” Philippe asked.

“Nowhere, you two should get out of the pool. I’ve got something to show you.” They got out as he asked.

Nikolas put a towel on the deck and got down on all fours. “Now, one of you are going to fuck me, while the other fucks that person. The one in the middle has the most fun, so I’ll let you fight that out between yourselves. It would help if we had some oil, too.”

Lorraine walked over to where he had put the oil. “I was ready in case we needed it.”

Philippe said, “Lorraine, you can be in the middle, but first…” Philippe went over and kissed Lorraine hard. “Thank you, love” he said at the end. He pushed Lorraine towards the towel where Nikolas was.

Lorraine looked at that beautiful ass that looked like it was carved out of marble and felt his cock tighten. He put some oil on his hand and began rubbing that beautiful ass. He had handed the oil to Philippe who was now oiling up Loraine.

Lorraine pushed gently inside Nikolas. “Nik, you okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” was the reply. Lorraine slowly slid his cock in and out, increasing the depth of his thrusts as he went.

Philippe then asked Lorraine, “Can you stop a minute.  I’m ready to enter you, but I don’t want you to be moving around where I might hurt you, until I’m sure you are totally ready for me.”

Lorraine thrust into Nikolas and held it. He felt Philippe kiss his ass, then felt the finger inside. It didn’t take Philippe long to get all the way inside him.

Nikolas then said, “Lorraine you are going to do most of the work. Philippe needs to position himself to where, as you pull out of me, he is in you. That way you are moving between me and Philippe. Philippe shouldn’t have to do anything as you move back and forth on him. Am I making sense to you?”

“Yes,  I think so,” Lorraine answered. “Philippe move a little closer to me. Yes, I think that is good.”

Philippe said softly to Lorraine, “Are you ready, love? Here goes.” It took a few thrusts before they got synchronized, but once they did, it went very well. Lorraine had to really concentrate, but it was amazing to get and receive at the same time.

After a few minutes, Lorraine was fighting to hold off his own orgasm but lost the battle. His body was too stimulated to hold out any longer. He moaned and cried out, “Ohhhh! Myyyyyy! Goddddd!” as he felt his cock pulse and all the nerve endings in his whole body let go at once. It was all he could do to keep from collapsing onto Nikolas. Then he heard Philippe’s moan and felt his cock pulsing and shoot his seed into Lorraine. Philippe too cried out, “Oh goddd!”

Lorraine fell to his knees onto the deck. Philippe followed him down all the way to the deck, climbed on him and kissed him. Lorraine managed to say, “Love, that was too intense! Oh my god! Nikolas are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Nikolas was laying on the towel watching Lorraine and Philippe.

Lorraine said, “Philippe, love, I have to get up and go take care of Nikolas.”

Nikolas interrupted and said, “No, I am fine. I’m going to need this erection in a bit. You two just relax and enjoy the moment. How long does it usually take you two get ready to go again?”

Philippe looked at Lorraine then said, “It all depends, I guess.”

“Never mind. It doesn’t really matter. Just relax for now. Kiss if you want. Hope you don’t mind me watching. I like to watch people kiss. But if it makes you uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll go take a dip in the pool or something.”

“No, you’re good,” Lorraine said just before Philippe kissed him again softly. They cuddled, kissed and stroked each other for a short while until Nikolas interrupted them.

“Who wants to be first?” Nikolas asked.

Lorraine said, “Philippe.”

Philippe asked nervously, “First at what?”

“Go sit on that deck chair and I’ll show you.”

Philippe looked a little worried but did as instructed.

Nikolas followed him with the towel and once Philippe was seated, Nikolas pushed Philippe’s knees apart and put down the towel. He then got to his knees and took Philippe’s limp cock in his hand and then put his mouth over it. Philippe moaned as Nikolas’s mouth worked. “Oh, my god. What is it that you are doing? That feels incredible.”

Nikolas looked up and tried to show it to Philippe. Nikolas used a lot of tongue action while he sucked with a twisting motion.

 “It takes a lot of practice to get it right, but once you do it is magic. Your tongue is just like any muscle, you can strengthen it.”

Lorraine didn’t want to know how Nikolas strengthened his tongue. Nikolas had said he didn’t have sex much, but he was very experienced at it!

Nikolas went back to work on Philippe and stopped when he had him hard. “Lorraine you are next.”

Lorraine decided to ask, “You say you haven’t had much sex, but you seem very experienced at it.”

“I figured you’d get around to that question sooner or later. That partner I had the four-year relationship with was much older than me and taught me all this. I was only fourteen when I met him and when I turned eighteen, I got too old for him. I know it sounds terrible, but he was very good to me. He never mistreated me. He didn’t seduce me, either. With older brothers I heard a lot about sex and was very curious about it at a young age. The problem was, I didn’t like girls. I met this guy who was eighteen and he had been a partner with that older guy. He told me all about him and I wanted to meet him. I knew what I was getting into and it was the best experience of my life. I don’t date much because guys close to my age are just too boring. I like older guys, but too many of them are users. So, I am very particular about who I choose to be with. When you two walked into the restaurant tonight, I felt this good vibe from you. I loved that you were so in love with each other. I could also tell you were interested in me.  Had no idea how this was going to turn out or even if there would be anything at all. And here we are. Now Lorraine, you need me to take care of you before Philippe goes nuts.”

Lorraine sat down. When Nikolas started, Lorraine was surprised at how good it felt. The only bad part was when Nikolas stopped.

“Now we are going to do the same thing, only you two are going to switch places so Philippe can get the middle action.”

It was now Philippe’s turn to realize how intense it was to both give and receive. As the thrusting got harder and faster, Philippe was moaning and crying out He was trying to hold out, like Lorraine, but it was impossible. The nerves fired, his cock throbbed, and Philippe yelled, “Gooooooddddddd!” A few seconds later he heard Lorraine’s moan and cry of “Oh goodddd!”

Philippe went to his knees with Lorraine following him down. He leaned back into Lorraine’s lap, then they both collapsed to the ground. Philippe turned and crawled onto Lorraine to kiss him. Lorraine put his arms around him and pulled him close. They each could feel the other’s cock throbbing as their bodies crushed together. Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “I hope this is the end of his little tricks. Don’t know if I can take anymore.”

Lorraine whispered back, “One of us either has to finish him off or let him fuck us. It’s only fair.”

“Are you volunteering?”

“Yes, I guess so. Let me up.” Philippe rolled off Lorraine who sat up and said, “Nikolas, what can I do to satisfy you?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to fuck one of you. I promise I’ll take it very slow. We could go in the bedroom where it is nice and soft. This deck is a little hard and rough.”

“Why didn’t you say something? Are your knees and hands okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine. If you don’t mind, whoever I am not fucking can fuck me. But you don’t have to.”

Philippe knew that meant him, but he had a concern, “Nikolas, I would love nothing better than to give you that middle experience, but I think my cock has had it. I don’t think I could get another erection for quite a while.”

“I understand, but why don’t we all go in the bedroom and discuss it. Bring the wine so we can finish it off afterwards. Oh, and that oil, too.”

It was starting to get chilly outside, so they all went in to the bedroom. They poured a round of wine and drank it, with all of them sitting on the edge of the bed.

When Nikolas finished his wine, he stood up and went over to Philippe. “Let’s see what we can do to get you excited again.”

Philippe started to protest but to his surprise, Nikolas worked him into another erection. Next, Nikolas had Lorraine get on all fours on the bed, then go down to his knees and elbows. Nikolas ensured Lorraine was well lubricated and ready for him. As he entered Lorraine, Lorraine moaned.

Philippe got into position, he was amazed at the perfection of Nikolas’s ass. Philippe knew he had never been that physically perfect in his life. His main concern now was holding out. He knew he was awfully close to climax. He desperately wanted to give Nikolas the full effect but didn’t think he’d be able to last. As soon as Nikolas started moving Philippe knew he wasn’t going to last, but an idea struck him. He hung in as long as he could, then cried out. He withdrew and the other two could hear him moving around. Nikolas had the stamina of a bull. Lorraine then heard Nikolas’s surprised grunt and him saying between thrusts, “Philippe….how’d… you…. get… hard…again?”

“I didn’t.” Then Lorraine heard the click and the hum of the dildo from their sex toys box.

Nikolas moaned loudly and continued until, with a muffled cry, Nikolas pumped his seed into Lorraine. Philippe removed the dildo as quick as he could, which was good, because Nikolas withdrew from Lorraine and slid to the floor, moaning. He finally asked, “What the hell was that?”

Philippe showed him the dildo. “It was a little present I gave to Lorraine for this honeymoon. I’m sorry I couldn’t hang in there, but I thought of this and it did do the trick.”

“Damned right it did. I will have to get one. My problem is that once I get an erection, it takes a lot for me to get rid of it. People always compliment me on my stamina, but sometimes I’d just rather not have it.”

Lorraine had managed to  go forward on the bed and collapse onto his stomach and lay there feeling the throbs, tingling and other sensations he didn’t have words for. Philippe noticed Lorraine hadn’t spoken or moved for a while and asked, “Love, are you okay?”

Lorraine grunted. That was all he could muster.

Philippe got worried and started checking Lorraine for injuries.

Lorraine managed to say, “Get your fingers out of my ass. I’m okay. Just exhausted.”

Lorraine rolled over and said, “God that was good” He didn’t see the crestfallen look on Philippe’s face. Nikolas had satisfied Lorraine in a way he never had been able to. That hurt. Coupled with the fact that Philippe had not been able to sustain his erection long enough to satisfy Nikolas, Philippe was feeling very inadequate.

Lorraine said, “Love, pour us another glass of wine and get up on this bed with me. I need to kiss you.” Philippe poured three glasses of wine, gave one to Nikolas who was still sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed, then handed the other two to Lorraine as he climbed in bed. He cuddled up to Lorraine and took his wine from him and drank a good long swig before he let Lorraine kiss him.

Lorraine told Nikolas, “Nikolas, why don’t you get in bed with us and we can talk some. I have some questions to ask you.”

Nikolas got in bed next to Lorraine since Philippe was close to the edge.

Lorraine asked, “Have you ever wanted to go to Paris?”

Nikolas answered, “I dream a lot about getting out to see the world. I would love to see Paris. But it is impossible. I don’t have the money.”

“What if I told you I think you could be a great runway model?”

“Me? A model?”

“With that body, that beautiful face and the charisma you have, I think you would take the fashion world by storm. You’d have to do some studying and develop a runway walk, but I know you could do it. How’d you like to be rich and famous and successful?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go to Paris so you two could have sex with me?”

“Oh god, no. As good as this was, I don’t think it would be good for Philippe and me to ever have sex with you again. I don’t think I could keep up with you two and I wouldn’t want to lose Philippe to you. I love him too much.”

Philippe stroked Lorraine’s face, “I love you, too and agree.”

Lorraine continued, “The company will fly you to Paris and put you up in an apartment with several other new models. If, for some reason, you don’t like it or can’t get the hang of it, we will fly you back here—or wherever you might want to go. If you do well, then you can become a regular model and it all depends on how much the clients and customers like you. Personally, I think they will love you and you will be a big hit. You could send money back to your family to help them out if that’s what you wanted to do.”

That was the hook that caught Nikolas. There were so many things his family needed, repairs on the house, money to go to doctors for various ailments. Better clothes for the kids to wear to school instead of worn out hand-me-downs. The list was long.

“You don’t have to decide right now. Get me your contact number and I’ll give you my work number. Discuss it with your family and if you decide you want to go, call me and I will arrange it. If not, let me know that, too.”

“Okay, that sounds good,” Nikolas answered.

“I don’t know about you two, but I am exhausted and need to get some sleep. Nikolas, I can call a car to take you home. Or you can sleep here with us and we’ll get you home in the morning. You can use my phone to call your home if you need to.”

“Yes, I should call my parents—they turn on the answering machine at night and turn off the ringer. If they are worrying about me, they’ll check that first.” Nikolas got up to make his call. When he came back Lorraine and Philippe were fast asleep in each other’s arms. Nikolas wondered if he’d ever find someone to love like that as he crawled into bed next to them and fell asleep.

 


	49. Nothing Wrong With My Libido

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe spend their last daylight hours in Santorini doing what most couples do on a honeymoon mixed in with a little shopping and lunch.

The next morning, Philippe awoke with Lorraine’s arm and leg draped over him and Lorraine’s head on his chest. He gently stroked Lorraine’s hair and thought of how dear Lorraine was to him. Then his thoughts went to the night before and he frowned. The “encounter” with Nikolas had been something to remember but it had left Philippe feeling inadequate and insecure. His “performance” has been less than stellar, especially when compared to that of Nikolas. Then, to make matters worse, Lorraine had invited Nikolas to come to Paris and become a runway model. Philippe knew Lorraine was always looking for fresh faces for his models and that Nikolas had everything needed to become a successful model, but Philippe couldn’t help wondering what other plans Lorraine might have for Nikolas. The idea of Nikolas being around while Philippe was on tour bothered Philippe. The fact that Philippe had recently told Lorraine that he was afraid he was going to cheat on Lorraine while on tour, didn’t help matters either.

Then Philippe remembered that Nikolas had not gone home and had fallen asleep on the other side of Lorraine. Philippe looked, but the bed was empty. Nikolas was no longer there. Philippe breathed a sigh of relief. He and Lorraine were alone. Philippe didn’t have to look at Nikolas’s perfectly chiseled body. What a fool he had been to agree to Nikolas’s offer to add variety to their evening. It was his fault for flirting with Nikolas in the first place. Philippe selfishly hoped that Nikolas would not accept Lorraine’s offer and that they had seen the last of him.

With that thought, Philippe turned his attention to Lorraine. He pushed the blonde hair out of Lorraine’s face and traced that beautiful face with his fingertips. Then his fingertips explored Lorraine’s back. The skin was so soft, but the muscles underneath firm—the hard bone of his shoulder blade softened by flesh. Philippe’s fingers traced the undulations of Lorraine’s spine all the way down to the small of the back. From there, Lorraine’s butt cheek was firm, perfectly plump and totally delightful to squeeze. Philippe slid his other hand down to the other butt cheek and with both hands grasped the butt cheeks and pushed Lorraine on top of him. Now he used his hands to cup Lorraine’s face and bring him up to his lips. He kissed him softly, hoping it would waken him.

Lorraine’s eyes fluttered open and saw Philippe gazing lovingly at him. Philippe spoke softly, “Morning, love. Thought you’d never wake up.” Philippe kissed Lorraine again. “We’re alone now, love.”

Lorraine, his face still in Philippe’s hands, asked, “Where’s Nikolas?”

That bit into Philippe’s ego, but he pushed it aside and answered, “I don’t know. He was gone when I woke up. But forget about him for now. I have better plans.” Philippe kissed Lorraine again, slipping his tongue gently between Lorraine’s lips to part them.

Lorraine started to say something else about Nikolas but thought better of it. Better to not bring up Nikolas while Philippe was intent on other things. They would find out about Nikolas later. For now, he had a very amorous Philippe to deal with. There was no better way to start the day. Lorraine returned the kiss and pressed his body against Philippe’s.

“So, you thought you would just take advantage of my body while I slept, did you? You woke up the sleeping beast, now pay the price.” Lorraine kissed Philippe zealously with his tongue probing, his body writhing with desire. Lorraine pushed Philippe’s chin back to expose his neck. He started beneath the chin,  running his tongue down the front of Philippe’s neck. Then his mouth found the sensitive spot just below where the jaw meets the ear. He kissed and sucked, then ran his tongue up to Philippe’s ear. He nibbled on the ear lobe then whispered into Philippe’s ear, “My dear, sweet mignonette.”

His mouth moved back to Philippe’s lips, tinged with red, and kissed them softly and tenderly. He nibbled and bit Philippe’s plump and curvaceous lower lip then slipped his tongue gently into Philippe’s mouth for a long, ardent kiss. He whispered in Philippe’s ear, “I feel your cock coming to life. What would you like me to do with it?” But before Philippe could respond, Lorraine kissed him again and slid his hands down Philippe’s body stopping at the curvature of his hips. He slid his hands under Philippe and clasped both buttocks and pushed Philippe into him.

His mouth was now working its way downward, stopping to suck on both nipples, then nibble and suck on Philippe’s belly. As he slid down, Lorraine moved himself onto his knees straddling Philippe’s thighs. Lorraine’s hands now moved over Philippe’s hips and onto his belly. His hands went down and began running through Philippe’s pubic hair. Philippe squirmed as he said, “That tickles, stop. Please.”

The hands moved down and encircled Philippe’s cock at the base then slowly moved up. Philippe moaned. Lorraine used his mouth to bring Philippe to full arousal. Philippe made unintelligible noises as Lorraine continued. Philippe closed his eyes, threw his head back and moaned, lost in the intense sensations Lorraine was giving him. “Yes, oh god, yes,” Philippe breathlessly cried out as he felt sweet release. Lorraine smiled up at him and moved his hands slowly back up Philippe’s body as Lorraine laid his body onto Philippe’s and found his neck again, then his mouth. After the  kiss, Lorraine tenderly stroked Philippe’s face with his fingertips.

Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “I love to make you writhe and moan, my love.” Lorraine laid his head on Philippe’s shoulder as Philippe wrapped his arms around him. They laid that way for a while their hearts slowing to a shared beat.

Philippe kissed the top of Lorraine’s head, then he grasped Lorraine by the shoulders and rolled him onto the bed and rolled himself onto Lorraine. “Now, it’s my turn to pleasure you, my dear Chevalier.” Philippe put his lips onto Lorraine’s and tenderly kissed him. He ran his fingers gently down Lorraine’s cheek and pushed his hair back, kissing his neck working, from one side to the other. He kissed, sucked and teased with his tongue. He moved his hands to Lorraine’s chest and twirled his thumbs over each of Lorraine’s nipples. His mouth went down to kiss each one, his tongue teasing, while his hands travelled down. Lorraine squirmed as Philippe played his body, awakening dormant nerves. Philippe’s mouth and tongue ran down Lorraine’s left side to his hip, worked across to the other side, back up and to his sternum. He ran his fingertips over Lorraine’s ribs then down to his belly, the flesh pliant to his touch. Then his hands reached down to gently push Lorraine’s legs apart. Philippe moved to his knees between them. While he licked and sucked on Lorraine’s belly, he ran his hands up and down Lorraine’s inner thighs.

Lorraine begged softly, “Please, Philippe, my love, get on with it.”

Philippe’s hands moved up Lorraine’s thighs making Lorraine shiver with excitement and anticipation. Philippe’s fingers twirled in Lorraine’s pubic hair, teasing as Lorraine writhed at Philippe’s touch. Lorraine finally felt Philippe’s hands on his cock and responded with a low groan.

“Oh, that’s good.”

Philippe’s mouth joined in the teasing, eliciting more groans from Lorraine.

“I’m begging you, love. Please!” Lorraine squirmed as Philippe continued teasing. “Please, love!”

“Since you asked so nicely…” Lorraine moaned as Philippe stopped teasing and took in his whole length and began working in earnest to bring Lorraine to a climax. It didn’t take long for Lorraine to cry out, “Oh god! Yes!” followed by low groans and incoherent mutterings.

Finally, with Lorraine totally spent, Philippe moved up to kiss Lorraine gently then rolled off to lay beside Lorraine.

“There’s nothing better in the morning than to make you cry out in pleasure, love,” Philippe said.

“It’s sad to think this is our last leisurely morning here,” Lorraine said as he snuggled up to Philippe who put his arms around him. “We have had a very memorable time here.”

“It was a wonderful place for our honeymoon,” Philippe added. “Maybe, we should have taken two weeks.”

“I’d be interested in making it two weeks, but we probably wouldn’t get this villa. Who knows what they would have to give us on such short notice.”

“Without privacy, it just wouldn’t be the same.”

“Still, it would be another week of leisurely mornings and evenings.”

“We’d get bored. Your business would fall apart. The band would start practice without me.”

They lay there for a while enjoying the intimacy.

Lorraine broke the mood. “We should probably get up and order some room service. We have a reservation at Katina’s at one. We should finish our shopping before then, too, before it gets too hot out.”

“Then can we come back here for the afternoon?”

“Sounds like a plan to me. What should we get for breakfast?”

Philippe said, “I want to try Turkish coffee, with some fruit, cheese and bread with honey.”

Lorraine answered, “That sounds good, except I want regular coffee. Can you ask if they have any melon? If they do, I’d like strawberries and melon for my fruit.”

“I guess that means I am calling in the order, then.”

“You do it so well, love. I’ll start the shower.” Lorraine forced himself to sit up.

That was when Lorraine saw the note from Nikolas on the stand and picked it up to read. In it, Nikolas apologized for getting up so early and leaving without saying goodbye. He had a cousin nearby who would give him a ride home. He left his home phone number for Lorraine to call, saying he was very interested in going to Paris but had to talk to his family. He asked if Lorraine could give him two weeks to get things settled. Lorraine folded the note and put it into the inside pocket of his suitcase.

In the shower, they enjoyed the luxury of leisurely washing each other. Despite their earlier activities, there still was a strong sexual need, but they wanted to save future activities for the afternoon.

Philippe had not realized that the server would prepare his coffee in the room until the server rolled the cart in. When they were both seated at the table in their robes, the server explained that the long-handled copper pot was called a _cezve_ and that the coffee had been ground to a fine powder in the kitchen just before bringing it to the room. He asked how much sugar Philippe wanted.

Philippe answered that he didn’t take sugar in his coffee. The server suggested he take just a small amount of sugar to which Philippe reluctantly agreed. The server added the sugar to the water in the pot and stirred. Then he put the pot over a burner on the table and brought it to a boil. He removed the _cezve_ from the heat and added the fine coffee powder, then boiled it again. He removed the pot again, scooped off the foam into a bowl and stirred the coffee again. He then poured coffee into a small cup and told Philippe to let the coffee settle before drinking it and to drink it carefully to avoid stirring up the finely ground coffee powder.

Philippe sipped the coffee gently and remarked that it was pretty good. However, when he got near the end, he sipped some of the finely ground coffee powder and made a face. He dumped the coffee into the bowl and used the pitcher of water to rinse the cup and poured a second cup. He waited rather impatiently for the coffee to settle, then drank part of that cup.

“Ok, that is enough, thank you. I have now tried Turkish coffee. It is very flavorful until you get to the grounds. It seems like a lot of work for several small cups of coffee. Lorraine, do you mind if I have a cup of your regular coffee?”

“Help yourself.” Lorraine was laughing inside. At least Philippe had tried something new. “By the way, I found a note from Nikolas.  He apologized for not saying goodbye and was going to get a ride from a cousin who lives nearby. He also is interested in Paris but needs two weeks to straighten things out here. He gave me his home phone number. I’ll call him later today to let him know he can take all the time he needs.”

Philippe just nodded in reply. He didn’t feel like he should really tell Lorraine his feelings on the matter. He knew he would appear selfish and insecure if he did.

While eating, they went over all the business cards with the items they were thinking of buying and settled on the items they wanted. Using their map, they plotted out their path and arranged the cards in the order they would get to them. After eating, they dressed and set out on their walk around Oia.

The morning air was pleasant and refreshing. They walked arm in arm enjoying the bright flowers and distinctive white-washed buildings of Oia with their sometimes round and sometimes sharp-angled edges. They could smell and taste the salt of the ocean that mingled with the fragrances of the many flowers. Occasionally, they could catch the smell of home-cooked foods wafting from the open windows of a home. Off in the distance they could hear the cry of seagulls, the occasional clang of a ship’s bell, and the horns of various other boats and ships. They made the rounds of the shops and filled their arms with bags of goodies for friends and co-workers. They both loved shopping and found shopping in Oia especially fun.

They arrived a few minutes early for their reservation at Katinas but were still seated immediately in the covered outside area by the ocean. Simple chairs and tables made of wood aged by the sun and weathered to a rich amber contrasted with the white and blue tablecloths. A multitude of small boats made their way through waters not far from the restaurant. The smells of many kinds of food wafted in the air and heightened their hunger. They ordered a bottle of Gavalas Santorini Natural Ferment wine. Philippe remembered it from their winery tours. It was made from the Assyrtiko grapes and made using the traditional Santorini methods. Philippe knew he was going to miss the wines of Santorini and was glad they would be receiving cases of the wine when they got home. He hoped he could find a place in Paris that could provide him with the Santorini wines after the cases were gone. But he did have the contact number for the wineries they had visited and was sure he could order directly from them, if needed. When he went on tour, he would need to designate which ones he wanted as part of his rider. God forbid he be stuck on tour without good wine to drink.

Lorraine interrupted his thoughts with, “You’ve been quiet since you ordered the wine. What are you thinking about, love?”

“Just about all the great wine we’ve tasted here.”

“Yes, and you are probably wondering how you can keep us in this wonderful wine when we get back to Paris.”

“Chevalier, you know me too well! That is exactly what I was thinking!”

Lorraine stroked Philippe’s face lovingly with the back of his hand. “Yes, I do, love.”

As an appetizer, Lorraine ordered a salad of peppers, Santorini cucumbers, various types of olives and fresh cheese. Philippe ordered a salad made with a split pea spread topped with a mix of capers, onions and wild lettuces dressed with vinegar and olive oil.

Lorraine decided to try one of the grilled whole fish with a plate of oysters on the shell and mashed fava beans. Philippe opted for a bowl that had grilled and sauced prawns, small shrimp, pieces of octopus, calamari rings and mussels. He also ordered baked zucchini covered in cheese.

They enjoyed their salads and were very impressed with their entrees.

Philippe asked Lorraine, “Does that fish have eyes?”

“No, the eyes popped when it was being grilled.”

Philippe grimaced and made a face. “I’m glad you’re eating it and not me.”

Lorraine cut off a piece of the fish and tasted it. The white flesh flaked off easily and was amazingly sweet and tasty and not at all fishy. “This is really good. Try just a taste. It is not fishy at all.”

Lorraine held out a forkful and Philippe hesitantly ate it. “That is good! I see you ordered some oysters.” Philippe smiled slyly at Lorraine.

“Yes, the zinc in them is good for the libido. I thought we could split these. Open your mouth.”

Lorraine squeezed some lemon onto the oyster and put the shell up to Philippe’s lips and tilted it, so the juice and the oyster slid into Philippe’s open mouth. Some of the juice ran down Philippe’s chin. Lorraine leaned over and sucked the juice off.

Philippe picked up an oyster, squeezed lemon juice on it and said, “Your turn.” Lorraine opened his mouth and Philippe slid the oyster and juice in. Again, juice ran down Lorraine’s chin and Philippe leaned over and sucked it off. Then, after Lorraine had swallowed the oyster, Philippe kissed him, then said, “I think it’s working.”

Lorraine said, “We don’t need to worry about our libidos. We have plenty of sex drive—maybe too much for our own good.”

Philippe answered, “Never too much sex,” and bit Lorraine’s bottom lip before kissing him again. They shared more of their food and more kisses. Philippe ordered a second bottle of wine.

“You know we have to walk back to the villa,” Lorraine told Philippe.

“We’ve got each other to lean on. We’ll make it.”

For dessert, they ordered a cheese custard with honey and some fresh fruit.

Philippe picked up a whole strawberry and held it up for Lorraine to bite. The strawberry was so ripe that, when Lorraine took a bite, juice squirted on his lips and ran down his chin. Philippe finished off the strawberry and kissed Lorraine, licking his lips and chin while Lorraine did the same to Philippe.

“Mmmmm. I love strawberries,” Philippe murmured as he picked up another strawberry and held it up to Lorraine’s lips.

Lorraine said, “I think we have an audience.”

Philippe turned to see two children staring at them—a boy about 6 and a girl about 8. Philippe said, “Hello, there.”

The girl said, “We’re not supposed to talk to strangers.”

Philippe said, “Did anybody tell you that it is not nice to stare?”

The boy asked, “Are you both boys?”

Lorraine answered, “Yes, we are.”

The boy continued, “Why were you kissing?”

Lorraine answered, “Because we love each other. Don’t you kiss the people you love, like your mom and dad?”

The little boy answered, “Yes, but not like that. You have a funny way of eating strawberries, too.”

Philippe answered that with, “When you grow up you will understand. It’s a grown-up way of kissing. So is the way we eat strawberries.”

The girl then spoke up, “Our uncle kisses boys. My dad calls him bad names.”

Lorraine and Philippe looked at each other. Lorraine said, “You take this one. You started the conversation with them.”

Philippe thought for a minute then said, “Sometimes families don’t always agree with each other. It’s sad but it happens.”

The questions just wouldn’t stop. The little boy asked, “Why do you both have long hair? I thought only girls had long hair.”

“Sometimes, boys have long hair, too. We like our hair like this. Some girls have short hair. It just depends on what a person likes.”

About that time the children’s mother came hurrying up and grabbed them each by an arm. “What have I told you about talking to strangers?” She dragged them away. The little boy waved goodbye to Lorraine and Philippe with his other hand.

Lorraine said, “You were doing surprisingly well, but that mother showed up in the nick of time!”

“Something tells me that little boy just might grow up liking to kiss boys. He was certainly curious enough.”

“We will never know. Now we can finish our meal in peace.” Lorraine stabbed a cube of melon with his fork and put it into his mouth.

“So, you don’t want me to feed you any more food?”

“The mood’s been broken. Let’s just finish up and get back to the villa.”

Philippe wasn’t going to give up that easily. He speared a cube of melon with his fork and held it to Lorraine’s lips. Lorraine reluctantly took it and Philippe put his mouth over Lorraine’s and they had a melon-flavored kiss. “Have some more wine.” Philippe filled Lorraine’s glass with wine.

Philippe topped off his glass and picked it up. “Here’s to us. Two boy-kissing men who are into very adult activities.”

Lorraine couldn’t help but smile, clinked glasses with Philippe and took a long swallow of wine. “Thinking about those adult activities is starting to get me excited.”

Philippe reached over with his hand and pulled Lorraine’s face to him and gave him an “adult kiss” with plenty of tongue. He whispered, “I’m getting excited, too, love.”

They finished off the fruit and their custards. There was one glass each left when they had finished the food. Philippe poured the wine into their glasses and they drank it quickly, now very anxious to get back to the privacy of the villa. They were feeling no pain on the walk back to the villa. They walked arm in arm, juggling the shopping bags and trying to support each other. They had forgotten how many stairs there were. Philippe missed a step and went face first into the cobbled path. He almost took Lorraine with him to the ground, but Lorraine managed to stay on his feet.

“Philippe, love, are you okay?” Lorraine started to lean over to check on Philippe, lost his balance and wound up sitting on the stone and cradling Philippe’s head in his lap. His hand ran over Philippe’s face and found nothing more than a small scratch.

Philippe started laughing. “We must look like two fools sitting in the middle of the path. Guess we _are_ two fools.”

Lorraine leaned down and kissed Philippe’s forehead. “I am so glad you didn’t injure yourself. I should have held on to you tighter.”

“Then you would have fallen, too. Come on, let’s pick up these bags and get back to the villa.”

They made it the rest of the way to the villa without any more falling incidents. They walked in and Lorraine turned to close the door when Philippe pushed him against the closed door, pressing his body hard against Lorraine and kissing him lustily. His hands were busy unbuttoning Lorraine’s pants and pulling them down, then pulling up his shirt. He stopped kissing Lorraine long enough to lift the shirt over his head. When Lorraine’s clothes were removed, Philippe went to his knees, kissing Lorraine as he went down. He cupped his hands on each of Lorraine’s buttocks.

Lorraine tried to say, “Philippe, aren’t we going to take this… ohhh!” Philippe’s mouth was already at work. Lorraine put his hands upon Philippe’s shoulders and pushed his own body against the door to steady himself as Philippe worked his mouth up and down. Lorraine felt the tension building. Finally, Lorraine’s knees buckled as the ecstasy washed over him. Lorraine’s moan ended in “Oh god, Philippe!”

The only things holding Lorraine up were Philippe’s hands cupping his buttocks. Philippe slowly let Lorraine sink to the floor into a sitting position. Philippe grinned and kissed Lorraine softly. “Sorry, love I couldn’t wait.” Philippe gently moved Lorraine’s hand to rest on his own very aroused member. “Would you mind if we moved to the bed and got some oil?”

Philippe stood, pulled Lorraine up and helped him to the bed. He pushed Lorraine gently down on the bed and put several pillows under his hips, He reached for the oil and began preparing Lorraine. He crawled onto the bed on his knees and moved between Lorraine’s bent legs. He put his hands under Lorraine’s hips and gently entered him. “Okay, love?”

Lorraine grunted a yes. Philippe started out slow and gentle, but increasing desire pushed him faster and deeper, Lorraine’s mutterings encouraging him on until Philippe could hold out no more and let out a half growl, half moan as he spilled his seed. After a few last few thrusts, he leaned back sitting on his calves, breathing hard. When his breathing had slowed enough to allow him to talk, he asked, “Love, are you okay? I’m sorry I got a little carried away. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m okay. But, damn, that was intense.”

Philippe brushed his fingers gently over Lorraine’s legs. He moved to lie next to Lorraine. He stroked Lorraine’s face. “Yes, that was intense. You drive me wild, love.” He leaned over and kissed Lorraine tenderly. He rolled and draped his leg and arm over Lorraine to hold him close and feel Lorraine’s hot, damp bare skin against his. “I promise tonight after dinner, that you can do whatever you want to me. Use me anyway you want, love”

“I will hold you to that promise, then.”

Philippe reconsidered, “Well, within reason, that is.”

“No, you said anyway I want. You can’t renege now.”

“Okay, guess I’d better set up a wake-up call, so we don’t miss our dinner reservation.”

Philippe reached over to the nightstand, picked up the receiver and dialed the front desk to set up the call. Then he returned to his position with his arm and leg draped over Lorraine. He leaned to kiss Lorraine and saw he was already asleep. He gently pushed the hair from Lorraine’s face and tenderly kissed him. “Rest up, love,” he said as he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.


	50. Chapter 50 The Last Night In Greece

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Lorraine enjoy a wonderful meal out, then enjoy the rest of their last evening of their honeymoon exploring each other in bed. It appears they have learned much about each other during the last week.

The ringing telephone woke Philippe. He reached over to pick up the receiver and thank the front desk for the call. He hung up and turned back to the sleeping Lorraine.  Lorraine looked so peaceful Philippe hated to wake him. Philippe gently ran his hand down Lorraine’s bare arm. Philippe would like nothing better than to wake Lorraine up with a steamy kiss that would lead to sex, but they had decided to save that for tonight. Instead, he leaned over and kissed Lorraine gently on the forehead. “Wake up, love.” He ran his fingers lightly down Lorraine’s cheek.

Lorraine stirred and mumbled something incoherent. Again, Philippe said, “Wake up, love. Time to get ready for our dinner tonight.”

Finally, Lorraine opened his eyes and yawned. “What time is it?”

“Time to get up and get ready for our dinner reservation. It’s our last night in Greece, love.”

“Then let’s just stay in bed and enjoy it.” Lorraine leaned in to kiss Philippe, but Philippe pulled back.

“We have time after dinner, love. Remember, I am your slave tonight.”

“Okay then, _slave_ , kiss me.”

“I’m not your slave until tonight. I’m going to take a shower.” Philippe crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom where he started the shower.

Lorraine stretched and sat on the edge of the bed. Then he remembered he had not called Nikolas yet. He went to his suitcase, got out the note Nikolas had left and dialed the number. A young girl answered, and Lorraine asked for Nikolas. He realized the girl did not speak English, so he kept saying “Nikolas, please” Finally he heard noises on the phone as it was handed to another person. That person answered in hesitant English.

“I need to talk to Nikolas, please. Tell him Mr. Lorraine needs to talk to him.”

“Nikolas?”

“Yes, Nikolas. Mr. Lorraine is calling.”

“A moment.”

Finally, a familiar voice answered, “Nikolas here.”

“Hi! It’s Lorraine. I got your note and yes, you can have two weeks or however long it takes—that is, if you are still interested in going to Paris.”

“Yes, Lorraine! I am very interested. I’ve talked to my family and while they aren’t too excited about it, they gave me their blessing to go. I just have to give notice at work and give them a chance to find a replacement for me.”

“Fantastic! I know you are going to do very well in Paris. Do you have a pen and paper, so I can give you my contact information?”

Lorraine gave Nikolas his work phone number and work email even though Nikolas said he didn’t have access to a computer.

“You call me as soon as you know the day you can fly to Paris. I’ll send the jet to pick you up.”

“Jet? You have your own jet?”

“It’s a company jet. As soon you know the date you can leave, let me know so I can ensure the jet will be available.”

“What should I bring?”

“Some clothes for your personal time—but we’ll give you a small wardrobe to start you off for public appearances, parties and events. You will be staying in an apartment with three other models, so all your lodging will be provided. Personal things like books or things you like to do in your spare time. If you like to play guitar, bring it. Things like that. You will be allowed  300 pounds on the jet. That is six fifty-pound bags. Don’t bring things that could explode or pose a hazard. Also, no weapons or knives unless it is a small pocket knife. And give that to the staff when you board the airplane just as a safety precaution. Do you have any questions?”

“No, not right now.”

“If you do, just call me. I look forward to seeing you in Paris!”

A wet Philippe came out of the bathroom dripping water on the carpet, “The shower is ready—who are you talking to?”

“I was talking to Nikolas giving him my work information and explaining what he’ll need.”

“So, he is coming to Paris?”

Lorraine went over to hug Philippe, “Yes, he is, love, but you have nothing to worry about. He will be handled by my team who takes care of the new models. They will keep me updated on his progress. I won’t have any contact with him at all for quite a while. When he does start working the shows, he will just be another ‘walking mannequin’ to me—just another body to send down the runway.” Lorraine kissed Philippe softly. “Don’t be jealous and don’t worry about things that aren’t going to happen.” Lorraine kissed Philippe a little harder. “Now, let’s take that shower.”

In the shower, Lorraine asked, “Do we have time to play around a little?” as he ran his hand down Philippe’s arm.

“Well, maybe a little,” Philippe answered as Lorraine “walked” his fingers from Philippe’s shoulder down to his chest, then belly, sinking to his knees in the process.

Philippe thought about asking Lorraine if this was just a way to get him to stop thinking about Nikolas but thought better of it. He decided to enjoy Lorraine’s “gift” to him and not question the motives. Philippe moaned as contact was made. Lorraine was very good at distracting Philippe and brought him to an intense release. Lorraine stood up and kissed Philippe.

Philippe asked, “Do you want me to do you?”

“No, there’s not time.  I’ll wait and have my slave take care of me after dinner.” They kissed again, completed showering, then got dressed quickly. The restaurant was in Oia so they had to walk to it. Luckily, it wasn’t too far away. The sun was setting, and the sea breeze made the walk pleasant. Again, they enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of Oia. They had dressed in their nicer clothes because the restaurant they were going to, the Ambrosia, was a fancier one than the mostly family-run places they had visited recently.

Philippe said, “I hope this isn’t one of those pretentious gourmet places that have these huge plates with tiny bits of food drizzled with a tiny bit of sauce. I don’t want to eat a painting—I want to eat real food, prepared well.”

“The concierge did say it was a very high-class place. I hope you aren’t going to be disappointed.”

“Well, the concierge has not given us a bad recommendation, yet. And he did know this was our last night here. He did say he wanted to make it special for us.”

Lorraine gave Philippe a squeeze. “We don’t want to be too stuffed anyway. I plan on giving you a good workout later.”

Philippe smiled and kissed Lorraine’s cheek softly and whispered, “I can’t wait to make you beg, love.”

Soon they were at the restaurant and being shown to their seats. The stairs leading up to the restaurant had been steep and exhausting, but the view of Oia and the ocean from the restaurant was breathtaking. Their table was out in the open on the edge of that hill. They not only had a great view of the ocean and land, but the night sky overhead was spectacular. The place was elegantly decorated. Each table had crisp white linen tablecloths, candles and fragrant red rose buds—the symbol Ambrosia used. The lighting was very romantic and subdued.

Lorraine said, “What a beautiful place! I think the concierge did a great job for us.”

Philippe was looking at the menu and said, “I think I want the Ambrosia Tart for an appetizer. Tomatoes, caramelized onions and goat cheese in a basil sauce. That sounds very good.”

“I’m going to have the Salmon Tartare. It comes with avocado slices, chives and a lime vinaigrette.”

“No raw fish for me. What is this fascination with fish? You had that grilled fish with the popped eyes for lunch, now you want raw fish?”

“You liked that grilled fish. When in a place renowned for fresh fish and seafood, then why not enjoy the bounty? When making a tartare, they use only the freshest and best product. I bet you’ll like it. It’s a better choice than Duck Foie Gras.”

“I agree with you on that. I had enough of that at Versailles. Are you going to get soup and a salad?”

“No, I don’t think I want soup, but I’d like to try the Ambrosia salad with seafood, mango, kiwi, passion fruit, and cashews over lettuce.”

“What are rocket salad leaves?” Philippe asked.

“I think that is a type of arugula.”

Philippe said, “Oh, okay. Then I’m going to get the Romantic salad.” Philippe pointed his finger at Lorraine and said, “No quips about that! I’m not ordering it because of its name but because I like that it has that arugula, spinach, strawberries, plums, nuts, figs and a pomegranate vinaigrette.”

“I wasn’t going to say a thing.”

“Good. Now, what are you getting for your entrée? I am thinking about the Tender Beef Fillet with mashed yams, mushroom sauce and truffle oil. But that would mean I should get a red wine for us.”

“I want the duck fillet with baby carrots and asparagus in Vinsanto sauce.”

“Good! Then we’ll get a red wine for a change. For dessert I want the Greek Kadaifi. Do you know what mastic is?”

“I have no idea, you can ask the waiter.”

“No, I’ve changed my mind and want the Ambrosia Delice. It has mango, passion fruit, golden leaves—whatever that is—over chocolate mousse.”

“I think they mean edible gold shaped into leaves.”

“Oh, okay. We had that a lot at Versailles, didn’t we? Everything was adorned in gold—even the food.”

Lorraine shook his head in affirmation and stated, “I want the summer biscuit—mascarpone mousse, rose petal jam, and pistachio ice cream. Not sure why they call it a biscuit, though. I don’t see anything that resembles a biscuit.”

“You know, all this food reminds me of the things we used to eat at Versailles. Pretentious and outrageous,” Philippe quipped.

Lorraine chose to ignore his comment and asked, “What wine are you getting for us?”

“The Argyros Estate Atlantis Red 2005. I think we had that or something very close at the wine tasting. I think that should go with your raw salmon, too, since it is a red meat—of sorts.”

“A red wine will be good for a change. We’ve had a lot of white wine lately.”

“Because we’ve been eating a lot of seafood and vegetarian type things.” Philippe answered. “Tomorrow we go back to eating Marda’s food.”

“Marda is a great cook!”

“Yes, I didn’t mean that disparagingly. Her food is good, but it’s just a lot plainer than what we’ve been eating here.”

“I, for one, need some plainer food. I think I’ve put on a couple of pounds,” Lorraine said.

“Yes, I have noticed you getting a little chunky,” Philippe quipped.

Lorraine kicked Philippe under the table.

“I was joking! I think all this walking and all our sexual activities have kept us from adding pounds. If anything, we might be a little fitter than we were when we arrived. Now, apologize for kicking me.”

“No! Joke or not, I don’t like being called chunky.”

Their little tiff was interrupted by the arrival of their server. It was another good looking, well-built guy who introduced himself as Andro. Philippe couldn’t help but flirt a little. Somehow, Philippe always knew which guys to flirt with and which ones not to. Of course, most servers would flirt with anyone for a good tip.

They placed their orders and both watched Andro walk away. Philippe said, “Don’t worry. I’m having a little fun, but I have no intention of inviting anyone back to the villa. I want you all to myself.”

Lorraine answered, “Oh, I know that. Only you know the secrets to satisfying me.” Lorraine leaned forward and Philippe leaned forward, too, so they could kiss.

Andro brought their appetizers while another server followed to set up the wine bucket on a stand. After placing their plates down, Andro opened the wine. Philippe approved it and Andro poured the wine into their glasses.

Lorraine took a sip of wine and said, “This is very good!”

Philippe watched as Lorraine took a forkful of his tartare, swirled it in the lime vinaigrette, then put it in his mouth. “Mmmmmm. This is very good. Do you want to try some? I can add some avocado to it.”

“It’s not fishy?”

“Not at all. It has a silky texture. The lime adds good acidity to it.”

“Okay, just a bit with a slice of avocado and a good swirl in that vinaigrette.”

Lorraine took a small amount of tartare, swirled it in the vinaigrette and then added a slice of avocado to the fork. He held it out for Philippe to taste. Philippe took the whole forkful into his mouth and chewed slowly.

“Well?”

“It wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I’d want it all the time, though.”

“How is your tart?”

“Very good. Can’t go wrong with caramelized onions. These Santorini tomatoes are good, too.”

They had just finished their appetizers when the salads came. Lorraine noticed that when Andro was placing Philippe’s salad plate he rubbed his leg against Philippe’s. Philippe saw Lorraine watching and tried to lean away from Andro, but it was a slow reaction that didn’t fool Lorraine. Lorraine decided to go on the offensive. He removed one shoe and used that foot to rub against Philippe’s leg. It was a smaller table and their knees were almost touching, so it wasn’t hard for Lorraine to run his bare foot between Philippe’s legs and to his crotch where he used his toes to fondle Philippe.

Philippe responded, “Easy there! I thought we were saving this for later.”

“Just a little preview, love.” Lorraine put his hand out and Philippe put his own in it. Then Lorraine leaned forward, and Philippe met him in a kiss. “When I said to wait, I didn’t mean on everything. We’ve got to have a little foreplay to get in the mood.”

Philippe decided to move his chair a little closer to Lorraine’s. Now he could put his left hand on Lorraine’s knee and it was easier to kiss him. He also ordered another bottle of wine since they were on their last glass of the first. He reached up with his hand and gently pushed Lorraine’s hair back and nibbled on his ear lobe, then whispered, “I will be the best slave you’ve ever had, love. That will be easy because I am already a slave to your love.”

Lorraine rewarded him with a tender kiss that developed into a long, ardent one. They didn’t notice Andro changing out the wine and adding fresh ice to the bucket until they finished the kiss. Andro was standing quietly waiting to open the wine looking down at the floor so as to not stare.

“Oh, Andro, sorry, didn’t see you there.” Philippe said.

“No problem. Would you like me to open the wine?”

“Yes, please.” Philippe responded. They went through the process and Philippe approved of the wine.

“How are your appetizers?”

“Very good, thank you. This tart is very good. So is the tartare.” Philippe answered.

“I’ll be back with your salads when you are ready.”

Lorraine smiled and said, “Glad you liked the tartare.”

“For tartare, it wasn’t bad. Would you like to sample some of this tart?”

Lorraine shook his head yes, and Philippe scooped up a good helping of the tart with some onion and tomato in it. He fed it to Lorraine. “Mmmm. Very good. That is a great caramelization on those onions!”

Philippe said, “You have some sauce on your lips.” He licked Lorraine’s lips and kissed him. Then they returned to eating their appetizers.

Andro brought their salads as they finished the last of the appetizers.

Lorraine said, “I’m surprised you didn’t get the Santorini salad.”

“Thought about it, but I’ve had quite a few of them. I wanted some fruit with my salad and this sounded good. You know I love strawberries and these plums are very fresh! Here, have a bite.”

Philippe picked up a slice of  plum and fed it to Lorraine.

“Yes, very good. Let me get a bite of this for you.” Lorraine speared a small shrimp, some mango, kiwi and passion fruit on a fork and fed it to Philippe.

“That is one big bite!” Philippe commented before eating it.

“I knew you could handle it, love.  How is it?”

“Great! So far, I am impressed with the food. Yes, it is artfully arranged, and the portions are not that large, but it is extremely good. And you can’t beat this setting! All those stars up there and the moon shining on the ocean. I love your face in the candle light, my dear sweet Chevalier.”

Philippe reached out and took Lorraine’s face in both hands. He kissed him softly, then kissed him again, adding a little gentle tongue. “This has been a wonderful honeymoon, love. I am so blessed to have you as my husband.”

“And I am extremely glad you are my husband, love.”

Their glasses were empty, so Philippe poured more wine into them then said, “Let’s toast to us, then!”

They picked up their glasses, clinked them together and said, “To us!” Lorraine added, “And an eternity of love!” They kissed again as Philippe ran his hand up the inside of Lorraine’s thigh stopping tantalizingly short of Lorraine’s crotch.

Lorraine murmured, “I think the wine is having an effect. Right now, everything is absolutely glow-rious.” They returned to their salads, smiling at each other as they ate.

They drank more wine while waiting for their entrées. Andro brought them still sizzling.

“Here you go, sizzling hot.”

Philippe looked at his beef fillet and said, “That smells heavenly!” He took a small taste of the yam mash and shook his head “yes,” as he ate it. “Never was big on yams but this is excellent.”

Lorraine took a bite of asparagus along with a baby carrot and swirled them in the Vinsanto sauce before eating them. “Philippe, you must taste this! The Vinsanto sauce is amazing!” He loaded his fork with a bite of asparagus and a carrot and swirled them in the sauce before feeding it to Philippe.

“Okay, when we get back, Marda is going to have to find some recipes for Vinsanto sauce.”

Lorraine answered, “If she develops good new Greek recipes for us, we will have to give her a good raise.” Lorraine sliced into the duck fillet and took a bite. “Oh, this is wonderful! They have rendered the fat under the skin perfectly! The skin is crispy and the meat juicy and tender and not at all overcooked. Usually when the skin is crispy, the meat is a little dry. How is your beef fillet?”

Philippe had just put a bit of beef in his mouth and had to wait a second before answering. “It melted in my mouth. I’m usually not a fan of truffle oil because they always tend to overdo it, but the chef has used just the right amount to add flavor without overpowering it.  Here let me get a bite for you to try.”

Philippe took a thin slice of beef, speared a mushroom and swirled it in the sauce for Lorraine to taste.

“I see what you mean! Heavenly! Here, let me get you some duck.” Lorraine fed Philippe a slice of duck dipped into the Vinsanto sauce.

Philippe answered, “I will have to give the concierge a big tip before we leave. This is an outstanding recommendation! It is as good as any of the best restaurants in Paris! Better, because of the setting!”

They finished their entrees and the bottle of wine. “Shall we get a couple of glasses of Vinsanto to go with our dessert? I don’t think I want another whole bottle of wine since we have to walk home,” Philippe said.

“Yes, a glass sounds just right.”

Andro showed up just as they were discussing it. Philippe asked what Vinsanto wine they had by the glass and he answered, “We have a very good one, Vinsanto Trygos 2005. Many of our customers want just a glass for dessert.”

“That is perfect! A glass for each of us then!”

“I will bring it with your desserts. Were your entrees acceptable?”

Lorraine answered, “Yes, more than acceptable! The food has been exceptional! My congratulations to the chef for a brilliant meal!”

Andros replied, “I will pass your compliments on to the chef. I am sure he will be delighted to have pleased you.”

When Andros came back with their desserts, he was followed by an older man carrying the two glasses of Vinsanto. Andros placed the desserts down and stepped away.

The man behind him stepped up to the table and said, “Good evening, my name is Panagiotis and I am the owner of this restaurant. Andros told me how delighted you were with our food. When he pointed you out, I could not believe my eyes! I am so honored to have you, Mr. Lorraine and Mr. Orleans, in our restaurant. I hope you are having a very enjoyable honeymoon in our quaint village of Oia. Please accept these glasses of our best Vinsanto, Trygos 2005, as compliments of the house. I can get you a full bottle if you would like, compliments of the house.”

Philippe answered, “Thank you. We have had a wonderful week here in Oia. This is our last night here and we saved the best for last. I think the glasses will be fine, thank you.”

“Really, I would love to bring you a full bottle. You can take it with you if you don’t drink it all.”

Philippe looked at Lorraine who shrugged, and turned back to Panagiotis, “If you insist then, thank you.”

After the owner walked away, Lorraine said, “You do remember that the last time we ordered a bottle to take home, we drank it all, don’t you?”

“Yes, but how can we refuse a free bottle of really good wine?”

“You do remember those steep stairs we had to climb to get up here, don’t you? One of us is going to fall down those steps and break a neck. Then the other is going to be a widower.”

“We’ll just have to be very careful.”

Lorraine shook his head and turned his attention to the dessert. “These desserts are too beautiful to eat!”

Philippe answered as he took a mouthful of his chocolate mousse with chocolate crumble, “You can look at your dessert as long as you want, I’m going to eat mine.”  He took a bite and exclaimed, “Wow! That is the smoothest, most chocolatey mousse I have ever tasted.” The next spoonful, he mixed in a little of the fruits along with a part of a golden leaf. “You just have to try this!” He scooped some for Lorraine with all the items on the spoon.

Lorraine tasted it and smiled, “You are so right!” They each took a swig of their glass of wine. Then Lorraine took a bite of his mascarpone mousse, with a little rose petal jam and the pistachio ice cream. “Whoa! I think I am in heaven.”

“What does rose petal jam taste like? I remember the rose water we had at Versailles. Was never a big fan of it.”

“It’s sweet mostly, with a bit of rose flavor. I think it smells more like roses than tastes like them.” Lorraine scooped some of each item of his dessert for Philippe to sample. Philippe tasted it and said, “I really like the mousse and the ice cream. The jam I could live without, but as you said, it doesn’t have much taste other than sweet. It has a very, very subtle rose flavor. I guess the smell of roses does fill your nose as you eat it.”

Andros brought the bottle of Vinsanto out. Philippe and Lorraine had already emptied their glasses, so they asked him to open it.

Lorraine said, “I hope we don’t regret this. We may need a guide to take us back to the villa.”

“I think we have walked these paths enough to know our way around, even drunk.”

Lorraine chose not to answer.

Philippe said, “You have some mousse on your lips,” then leaned over to lick it and kiss Lorraine. It started out soft but ended up quite ardent.

Lorraine asked, “Are you trying to get us kicked out of here?”

“Oh, I am sure they are used to amorous customers since they bill themselves as the most romantic restaurant in Oia.” Philippe ran his finger down Lorraine’s face, down his neck and to the neckline of his shirt, where he toyed with the top button. “Can’t wait to get you out of those clothes.”

Lorraine responded, “Well, don’t do it here.”

“Just one tiny little button?” Philippe undid the top button. “Maybe two. You probably should not have buttoned them in the first place. That is an irritatingly modest neckline.” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s neck, but Lorraine gently pushed him away.

“Please, love, eat your mousse.”

Instead, Philippe grabbed his wine glass, drained it then poured himself another one. He topped off Lorraine’s glass. Then he said, “What would you do if I grabbed you and threw you on that floor and jumped on top of you?”

Lorraine sighed and said, “I love the imagery, but we both know you wouldn’t do that here. All it would do would be get us kicked out or arrested for public lewdness. You wouldn’t want to spend our last night here in jail, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t. But just know that is what I am doing in my mind.”

“And I am enjoying what you are doing to me in your mind. Now shall we finish out desserts and get back to the villa?”

They finished their desserts. Andro came by to check on them and Philippe asked him if they had a stopper for the wine and that they were ready for the bill. He said he would get them one and be right back. Philippe and Lorraine finished the wine in their glasses while they waited for Andro to return. Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine lightly, while his hand went up Lorraine’s thigh and gently cupped Lorraine’s cock. He whispered, “I can’t wait to play with this.”

Lorraine gently pushed Philippe’s hand away and whispered back, “Neither can I, but please don’t get it excited here. I’m going to have a hard-enough time walking back to the villa without worrying about an erection, too.”

Andro returned with the bill and took the bottle back to the kitchen to stopper it and put it in a house wine bag. He handed them the bag and took the bill to the register. When he returned,  Lorraine signed the bill and handed it back to Andros.

Andros replied, “It has been a pleasure serving you tonight. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. Thank you.” He smiled and winked at the two of them. “Be safe on your way back to your lodgings. And be careful on the stairs out of here.”

Philippe answered, “Thank you, Andros. You have been a very attentive server tonight. You helped to make this a memorable evening.”

Andros smiled and left them. Philippe asked, “You did give him a good tip, didn’t you?”

“I think twenty-five percent is good, don’t you?”

Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine, “That is very good, love, maybe you should carry the wine.”

Lorraine stood up and picked up the wine. He pulled Philippe’s chair back a little to assist him in standing up. He wobbled a little and Lorraine put his arm around him to steady him. Lorraine wasn’t that steady on his own feet and was worried about how the two of them were going to get safely down those stairs. To his relief, as they approached the stairs a sturdy young man on staff stepped up and said, “Do you need assistance with those stairs?”

Philippe said, “No, we’ve got it,” but Lorraine shook his head yes.

The young man said, “Let me walk ahead of you. This is my job helping people navigate the stairs safely. My boss will get mad at me if I don’t do my job.”

Philippe said, “Okay. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.” Lorraine smiled and mouthed, “Thank you!”

The young man walked ahead bracing himself with his hands on the walls in case one of them were to slip. They made their way slowly down the stairs. Several times Philippe stumbled, and Lorraine was so glad for the young man ahead of them. Even Lorraine slipped once.

At the bottom of the stairs, the young man asked, “Will you be able to find your way back to your lodgings?”

Lorraine took out the map he had folded and put in his pocket. “I think so, with this. Thank you.”

They stumbled off and slowly made their way back to the villa. Lorraine had to check the map several times before they got there. The worst part was the climb up to their villa. They stopped several times along the way and each time Philippe kissed Lorraine passionately and ran his hands over Lorraine’s body. Lorraine had to gently push Philippe back and say, “Let’s get to the villa, first, love.” If nothing else, Philippe was persistent.

They finally made it to the villa and went in. The first thing Philippe did was kiss Lorraine. Afterwards, Lorraine said, “From this point forward, you are now my sex slave.”

“Yes, my master, my love, what do you want me to do?”

“You can now unbutton those buttons you were so enamored with.”

“Gladly!” Philippe kissed Lorraine, then ran his mouth to his neck and sucked on his neck while he undid the buttons on Lorraine’s shirt. He threw the shirt to the floor and moved his mouth down to his chest while his hands went to Lorraine’s pants and undid them. He pulled the pants down along with his underwear and Lorraine stepped out of them. His mouth continued down to Lorraine’s stomach as he kneeled. Lorraine didn’t stop him, so Philippe moved his hands to Lorraine’s cock. He ran his hands slowly up and down a few times then put his tongue to work on the head of his cock. Lorraine moaned and said, “Can we move in to the bed? I’m a little wobbly.”

“Yes, love.” Philippe stood up and kissed Lorraine walking him backwards into the bedroom. When they reached the bed, Lorraine sat on the bed. Philippe then knelt between his legs and brought his hands to his cock again and held it, so his tongue could continue teasing. It was starting to come to life. Lorraine moaned and said, “Stop! Let me get the oil, love.  I need to fuck you.”

Philippe said, “Good, because I need you to fuck me. How do you want to do this?”

It was Lorraine’s turn to kiss Philippe and to remove his clothes. When the clothes were in a heap on the floor, Lorraine took Philippe’s face in both hands and gently pushed his head back to expose that long, white neck. He mumbled, “I must be part vampire, because all I want to do is suck and bite on your lovely neck.”

“Please, love, don’t draw blood.”

“And what if I did? I wonder how that would feel—and taste?” Lorraine gently bit Philippe’s neck. “On second thought, it would be a shame to blemish that beautiful neck.” Lorraine started sucking on it again. It was obvious he had Philippe a little nervous. Good. That was exactly what he wanted.

“Okay, on the bed, on all fours. Scoot over so I have room to get up behind you.”

“Yes, love.” Philippe did as he was asked. Lorraine went over to get the oil and decided to pull a little something out of the wooden box of sex toys to give Philippe a little surprise. He got up behind Philippe and bent over him on his knees, running his hands along his sides while kissing his neck and his back. He worked his hands back towards Philippe’s buttocks and sat back on his calves. He rubbed oil on Philippe’s buttocks and kissed and kneaded them with his hands. He loved the feel of Philippe’s ass under his fingertips. He worked the oil into Philippe. He gently inserted his oiled finger and Philippe groaned. He worked it adding a second and third finger. Then he picked up the toy—the dildo—and gently inserted it slowly.

Philippe moaned, and Lorraine asked, “Are you good love? Philippe grunted “Yes.” Lorraine took the time to oil his own cock.

Lorraine gently continued pushing the dildo in then began slowly pulling it almost out, then pushing it in again. Philippe moaned and said, “For some reason, it feels different. The angle seems strange.”

“Don’t worry about it, unless it hurts. Tell me if I hurt you.”

“No, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“You’ll understand in a minute.” Lorraine continued his slow pushing and pulling. Then on the push in, Lorraine flipped the switch and the dildo began vibrating.

Philippe moaned loudly, “Oh, it’s that dildo. Oh my god, I forgot how good that feels. But love, it is your night to be pleasured, not mine.” Lorraine increased the rate of thrusting and Philippe stopped talking and made little incoherent noises.

Then Lorraine stood up on his knees and prepared for his next move. With one hand he took his own cock and was ready to guide it in, with the other he pulled the dildo out and quickly guided his cock into Philippe.  He flipped the switch on the dildo to off and dropped it on the bed as he began thrusting into Philippe. He went slow for quite a while, making Philippe ask, “Love is everything ok?”

“Yes, just taking it slow for a change.” Lorraine ran his hands over Philippe’s back, to his sides and under to his chest and belly and then he grasped Philippe's cock making him moan.

As the blood flowed into his own cock, Lorraine began faster and deeper thrusts. He was surprised that by going slower, he had extended his time, but now his body was ready for release. Philippe grunted and braced himself as Lorraine’s thrusts grew harder and faster. Then to Philippe’s surprise, he realized that his own cock was ready to burst. He tried to hold out to let Lorraine get his release. To his relief, he felt Lorraine’s cock release inside him and heard Lorraine cry, “Oh god, love!” Lorraine felt a very intense orgasm wash over him as he spilled his seed into Philippe. Then he heard Philippe’s own moan and cry of “Godddd!” Lorraine collapsed onto Philippe’s back and wrapped his hands around Philippe. He was breathing hard, sucking in air. Philippe decided to move forward to lay on the bed. Lorraine followed him down, still tightly holding onto Philippe. He withdrew and rolled to the side of Philippe. 

Philippe rolled to his side and reached out to touch Lorraine’s face tenderly. He smiled and asked, “Master, love, did I do well?”

“Yes, very well, love. But you aren’t done, yet. Rest up a bit.”

Philippe rolled to his back. “I don’t know why, but I’ve never had that deep of an orgasm when receiving before.”

“Do you remember exactly what I did to you?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“I want you to do the same to me after we recover some. I’ll walk you through it if you need.”

“Where’d you get the idea for this?”

Lorraine hesitated. He didn’t really want to tell Philippe for fear it might upset him. Lorraine finally decided Philippe would keep asking and would be even more upset when he found out.

“Okay, but it is likely to upset you.”

“No, I promise. I won’t get upset.”

“It was after the other night with Nikolas. I am sure you assumed, as I did, that it was Nik’s rather large equipment that gave me the orgasm I had when he fucked me, but we were wrong. It was that he took so long—had to go so slow to get me used to him—and that is why I had the reaction. It was just a theory until tonight. What you just did to me was so much better than what Nikolas did. First, because you turn me on so very much. Our chemistry is so special. I didn’t have that at all with Nik. And secondly, because you aren’t so freakishly large it felt so much better to me. There was always just an edge of pain with Nikolas, there was none with you. And let me tell you, what I just experienced is possibly the best fuck I’ve ever given—and I’ve had some good ones from you. To make it better, you orgasmed, too. You’ll understand when you do me.”

“So, it wasn’t Nikolas being so well-endowed that gave you that orgasm the other night?”

“Not at all. You have nothing to worry about. I love every inch of your cock and it is more than enough to satisfy me. What you and I have is so very special. Our bodies were made for each other.”

Philippe wrapped his arms around Lorraine and kissed him. “You are so very special to me, too, love. I admit, I was feeling a little inadequate the other night, but you have made me feel it was all for nothing. In a few minutes I’ll show you what I can do.” Philippe ran his fingers through Lorraine’s hair and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Lorraine responded with, “This has been a wonderful week, love. We have had such wonderful experiences, but the best times have been the quiet times we have spent together and the time we have had to explore each other’s bodies. I never really understood what a honeymoon was for. Yes, we lived together before we were married, and we had lots of sex. I would have argued that we already knew each other, and a week’s vacation couldn’t change or improve that. I would have been totally wrong.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“Think about it. In our normal lives there are so many distractions. We might find time to make love and have sex, but a part of our minds is still on other things. This week, we were thrown into a totally new environment. We explored it together.  Our thoughts have been totally on each other. I have developed a deeper sense of who you are and what you mean to me. I think you could probably say the same. The sex has taught me as well. We have had a chance to get to know what the other wants and needs, sexually. We’ve experimented—now I would say our experience with Nikolas definitely had its pitfalls, but it has certainly shown me a few things about myself. Mainly that I have truly changed. I don’t lust after every hot-bodied, good-looking guy I see. I no longer need that. I have you. You are _my_ good-looking, hot-bodied guy. You truly are everything I need. I could not have gotten that without this week here, with you. I knew it in theory, but it took this week to make me feel it as the way things are.”

“Since we are feeling so honest, would it hurt you if I told you something that contradicts what you just said?”

“If it is how you truly feel, then you need to say it and get it out there. I will have to figure out how to cope with it.”

“Well, I still feel the urge to flirt with good looking guys. It’s not that I want to go off and fuck them or anything. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do that to you. I don’t know. I don’t even think the idea of having sex with them is important. It’s the flirting that is exciting. I don’t know why.”

Lorraine sighed, “Well, I can think of several things to say. The first would be that maybe I am further along in my, shall we say, sexual maturity. I have spent many more years chasing after models and jet-setter types and having every type of sex possible. You haven’t—at least not to the extent that I have. And the last few years, you had that group of young men dependent on you. You could have sex with any of them any time you wanted, but it was _because_ they were dependent upon you not because you were good at wooing them. You didn’t need to go out and chase men. There is a certain allure to the chase. It is very ego-satisfying to be successful at it. Even on your tours, they threw themselves at you. You didn’t have to chase them at all. So, this idea of chasing someone—which starts with flirting—is somewhat new to you. That, I think, is why you find flirting so enjoyable.”

Philippe’s eyes started to fill with tears. “But love, I really don’t want anyone but you. But I am so afraid that I am going to let this flirting thing get out of control and cheat on you. Especially when we aren’t together every night.”

Lorraine thought for a few minutes then asked, “What if I said it was okay?”

Philippe asked, “What was okay?”

Lorraine answered, “That it is okay for you to flirt and if it goes that way, have sex. As long as it is not while we are together every night. You know, when you are on tour, or  I’m off doing a fashion show somewhere.”

“I couldn’t do that to you!”

“I have thought about this since you brought it up the other day and that seems to be the only solution.”

“How is that a solution?”

“If I don’t say it is okay and you go off and have sex with someone, you are going to feel bad, and I’m going to be mad, and it won’t be good for either of us. But, if I agree it is okay under certain circumstances, then I have had to come to terms with it and can’t be mad if it happens. I think you will still feel bad, but it will be easier on the two of us if I don’t get mad. Can you think of a better solution?”

“Yes, that I just don’t have sex with anyone but you. That I don’t go on tour where I will be tempted. Get me a chastity belt or something, I don’t know.”

Lorraine laughed, “A chastity belt? I don’t think they make those for men. What? Make a metal or leather sling for your cock? Do you know how uncomfortable that would be? How it would---Aww! I don’t even want to think about it! No, that is definitely out of the question.”

Philippe grimaced. “Yeah, I didn’t think that one through before I said it.”

“Look, love, we will have to have more discussion on this, but not tonight. The tour is off in the distant future. Tonight is our last night here, and I think I am ready to finish this up, although I think my cock is hiding after that chastity belt thing. How about yours?” Lorraine reached over and gently stroked Philippe.  There was definitely a response from it. “Are you ready, love?” Lorraine was already climbing on top of Philippe and covered  Philippe’s mouth with his in a soft, probing kiss as he pushed his body against Philippe’s.

Philippe’s hands gently grabbed a handful of hair on either side of Lorraine’s face as they kissed. At the end of the kiss, Philippe softly kissed Lorraine’s forehead then pulled his face down for another long kiss. After the kiss, Lorraine moved his lips to Philippe’s ear and gently blew in it, then nibbled his ear lobe. His lips moved down to the juncture where the jaw met the ear, that soft, sensitive spot, and he began kissing and sucking. Philippe pushed himself against Lorraine and let out a small moan. Lorraine’s lips worked themselves to Philippe’s neck. After kissing, sucking and licking his neck, Lorraine moved his mouth downwards. He paused to let his tongue lick and twirl, first one nipple, then the other. Meanwhile, his hands hand made their way to Philippe’s cock that had partially responded to the amorous attentions. One hand stroked the underside of Philippe’s cock, making Philippe moan and writhe in response. Then it encircled the cock while the fingertips of the other teased the head.

Now Lorraine’s mouth came into play and his tongue teasingly licked Philippe’s cock before his mouth took it in. Philippe moaned and pushed his hips up toward Lorraine. Lorraine’s mouth slowly brought Philippe to a full erection. When Lorraine pulled his mouth off Philippe’s cock, Philippe moaned in protest, “Nooo!”

“Sorry, my dear sex slave. This is where you serve me, now. Get up and get the oil, love.” Lorraine moved off Philippe and stood on all fours. Philippe understood what he wanted and got the oil and moved behind Lorraine on his knees. Philippe followed what Lorraine had done to him, leaning over him, gently moving the hair from his neck and kissing it, moving down kissing his shoulders, while his hands ran down Lorraine’s sides and back, firmly massaging and prodding until he came to Lorraine’s buttocks. He used the oil to massage and squeeze the cheeks, finally making his way into the crack.

When he gently inserted his oiled finger, he heard a moan, then Lorraine say, “Now slowly proceed. Make it last longer than you ever have before, love.”

“But I might lose my erection!” Philippe protested.

Lorraine answered, “I guarantee you won’t love. Where would be the fun in that?”

Philippe did as instructed, spending time with his fingers. Finally, he picked up the dildo and worked it slowly in eliciting a moan from Lorraine. He worked it in, then moved it in and out a good deal of time, knowing that Lorraine expected it to be turned on at any moment. Philippe thought, “Good, let him anticipate for a while.”

Finally, Lorraine asked, “Have you forgotten where the switch is love?”

“No, you said to take it very slowly. Just following instructions, my master, my love.”

“That is slow enough, please, love.”

“Are you begging?”

“Yes, yes I am. Please! I beg you, please, turn it on.” Lorraine moaned loudly as Philippe flipped the switch. Lorraine grabbed the bedspread with both hands, put his head down onto his arms and moaned.

Philippe carefully watched Lorraine’s reactions, trying to judge just when to switch out his own cock for the dildo. He noticed, with a smile, that his own cock had gotten harder and that Lorraine’s had come to life, too.

He stood up on his knees, turned the dildo off, withdrew it quickly and dropped it on the bed. He then guided his cock in as Lorraine made incoherent noises. Remembering Lorraine’s cues, he resisted the urge for hard, fast thrusts and began thrusting slowly. It took every bit of willpower to keep it slow because of the intense feelings of his own cock. He was about to scream in frustration when he heard Lorraine mumble loudly, “Now, Philippe, love, now! I can’t take any more!”

A moment of rebellion overtook him, and he waited just a few more slow thrusts, before he gave in and began deep, fast thrusts. He was no longer in control of his actions as his cock took over. He wasn’t sure if the loud cries and grunts were his or Lorraine’s, and it didn’t matter. Waves of orgasm swept over him as he finally felt his cock release its seed into Lorraine. Yet, the nerves in his cock kept firing and sending out more waves of ecstasy. He felt his cock pulsing but there was nothing left to shoot. It was Lorraine who collapsed onto the bed, bringing Philippe with him. Philippe just lay there on top of Lorraine, gasping for air and unable to move, his whole being, for the moment, focused on his throbbing cock.

He finally realized Lorraine was squirming under him and that he was probably crushing him. Philippe finally withdrew and rolled over on his back beside Lorraine. “Love, are you okay?”

All Lorraine could say was, “God, Philippe, god.”

“So, did I do it right?” Lorraine just moaned. Philippe rolled onto his side facing Lorraine and pushed Lorraine to his side facing him. Philippe moved in closer and stroked Lorraine’s face. Lorraine’s eyes were still closed, so Philippe brushed his lips gently across Lorraine’s eyelashes.

Lorraine opened his eyes and smiled. “Love, you outdid yourself! What a way to end our last night here in Santorini!” They kissed, then settled in to cuddle and hug each other, too exhausted to do anything else, until sleep overtook them.


	51. A Return to Home Sweet Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe pack and say goodbye to Oia and Santorini, Greece. Back at home they enjoy the pleasures of being a newly and legally married couple--something they have had to wait a very long time to be.

The wake up call came way too early—if you can call ten in the morning “early.” But for two hung over guys, it was early.

“For god’s sake, Philippe, answer the phone.”

“I always answer it, you answer it.”

“You answer it because the phone is right next to you!”

“I’ve answered it every day we’ve been here. Not today.”

Lorraine groaned and leaned over Philippe, being sure to put a hard hand in the middle of his back to support himself as he grabbed the phone.

“Oww! That hurt!”

After Lorraine answered the call and hung up, he kissed Philippe’s back, “Does that feel better?”

“No.”

“My, aren’t we a grump today!”

“I’ve got a headache.”

“So do I. But we need to pack. We need to be out of here by one and the jet is scheduled to take off at two-thirty. Since we gain an hour, I think, that means we won’t get home until six-thirty Paris time.”

Philippe grunted, covered his head with his pillow, and turned his back to Lorraine.

“I’ll order us some food. What do you want?”

“Can’t hear you.”

“Okay, I’ll order us some coffee, those barley pancakes with honey and some sausage.  I’ll also get us some fruit, too.”

“Still, can’t hear you.”

Lorraine reached over and slapped Philippe’s bare butt. “Bet your heard and felt that!”

Philippe grunted again and put his arms over the pillow to hold it tighter.

Lorraine gave up and got out of bed to walk over to the phone and order their “breakfast.”

“Are you going to take a shower or go stinky?” Philippe didn’t answer. “Suit yourself, then. I guess I can just leave you here if you aren’t ready.”

Lorraine went in and started the shower. He got in when it was the right temperature and smiled when he saw Philippe come stumbling into the bathroom.

After relieving himself, he asked, “Is there room for me in there?”

“Yes, love, there is always room for you. Here, stand under the shower head and let the water run over your head. It should make you feel better. Would you like me to scrub your back?”

“Yes, please. How can you be in such a good mood?”

“How can I not? I had a wonderful meal last night, with the best company, followed by amazing sex. Maybe we had a little too much wine, but I can’t let that get in the way of everything we need to do today.”

“The water does feel good, and your hands feel amazing on my back.”

“I think I have some pain-killer in my suitcase. The coffee should help, too.”

“It seems so sad that we have to leave.”

Lorraine put his arms around Philippe and hugged him. “Yes, we have had an amazing time here. It was the best choice for a honeymoon destination.”

“Sorry I am so grumpy.”

“You’ll be better when you get some coffee in you.”

“At least we get to sleep in our own bed tonight. That will be nice.”

“Yes, love. I don’t care where I sleep as long as you are with me. You are an adorable grump,” Lorraine answered.

They finished their shower, dried off and put on their robes just in time for room service to bring their food. Lorraine poured them both some coffee.

“Oh good, they included pomegranate seeds!” Philippe exclaimed.

“And strawberries, love.” Lorraine was glad to see Philippe’s mood improving.

The coffee and the breakfast revived them enough, so they could tackle packing. As usual, stuff didn’t go back into the suitcases as easily as when they packed to come. They had the concierge mail a lot of the things they had bought while here including their professionally cleaned and packed wedding suits.

Finally, Lorraine acquiesced. “This just isn’t going to fit!”

He called the concierge to see if there was any way he could get them one or two more suitcases. The concierge told him that they always had a supply of suitcases on hand because this was a common occurrence. He invited them to come to the office and look over what they had.

Lorraine made an assessment of what they still had to pack. He made the trek down to the office, bought two suitcases and lugged them back up to the villa. Philippe was still trying to organize his things for packing.

Lorraine said, “I think you are the slowest packer I have ever seen.”

“I’m not moving so fast today.”

“That’s an understatement!”

They finally got everything in suitcases and made a walk through the villa to be sure they didn’t miss anything. They had a few minutes before the hotel staff were to come and take their luggage, so they went out to look at the view one more time. They put their arms around each other and kissed.

Lorraine said, “This has been wonderful. You could not ask for a better view.”

Philippe said wistfully, “We didn’t use the pool as much as I thought we would, but the times we did use it were incredible!”

Then it dawned on Lorraine the real reason why Philippe had started out so grumpy. It wasn’t just too much wine, but the fact that they were leaving this paradise. Then the reality of it hit him, too. He hugged Philippe to keep from tearing up. This was the end of their honeymoon. From here on out, this week would be just fond memories. They might come back to visit but it would never be this first time. A lot had happened in just a week and they weren’t quite the same people who came here. They were leaving with a firm sense of how much they loved each other. Lorraine wondered how much the pressures of real life would chip away at what they felt.

Philippe asked, “Love, you have gotten very quiet. Is everything okay?” Philippe put his hand gently under Lorraine’s chin and pushed his face up, so he could see it. “What are the tears for, Love?”

Lorraine lied, “They are tears of happiness. This has been such a wonderful time.”

Philippe bent and kissed Lorraine gently. “Yes, and now we must go home.”

Lorraine never got to answer because there was a knock at the door. The hotel staff had come to take their bags. The bags were to go in a van that would go directly to the airport where they would be loaded onto the jet. Lorraine and Philippe were taking a private car and would have a little time to catch a quick bite to eat in Thira.

At the front door before going out, they had one last, long kiss before walking out the door and closing it behind them. They walked leisurely down the path for the last time, stopping to take in the view along the way. At the office, they settled the bill and turned over the key. As promised, there was a large tip for the concierge of $200 or about 176 euro.

The concierge was very surprised and tried to say it was too much, but Philippe told him, “Sir, without your recommendations and service, we would have been very lost. You have insured our stay here has been outstanding. You deserve every penny of this!”

Both Lorraine and Philippe shook the man’s hand and thanked him. Then they walked to the pickup area and got in their waiting car for the thirty-minute ride to Thira and the airport.

Lorraine asked the driver if there was a place in Thira where they could get a quick bite to eat. The driver said his favorite place was Gyro’s Place. They had the large spits of roasted meat where they carved thin slices to serve in a platter or in wraps. They had chicken, pork and lamb. They also served wine by the glass and beer on tap. The driver’s favorite beer was the Greek Mythos beer. Lorraine told the driver that they would like to eat there before going to the airport and that he was invited to join them.

Then they settled back for the ride. Lorraine asked, “Shall we end this the way we began it?” Before Philippe could answer, Lorraine was kissing him. They kissed, cuddled and caressed each other all the way to Thira. The driver had pulled up to Gyro’s Place and found a place to park. They had one final kiss, then “rearranged” themselves before getting out of the car. It was self-serve, meaning you went up to the counter to order and the food was brought to your table. The smells were incredible. They settled on a gyro wrap and a salad topped with local cheese. Philippe chose lamb, while Lorraine chose pork. The salad was a fresh array of Santorini tomatoes and cucumbers, olives, sliced peppers, and crisp lettuce topped with the cheese. They were also given a bowl of tzatziki sauce. They decided to try the Mythos beer instead of wine for a change. For dessert they had a cheese “mousse” topped with honey. While not at all fancy, the food was great and very filling.

They were soon back in the car and approaching the airport.  The driver found where their jet was parked and took them as far as he could. They tipped him well and walked the short distance to the jet. The attendant greeted them and led them to the stairs to board the jet. Lorraine asked the crew about the baggage and verified that all the bags had made it to the jet. Then he asked if a large crate  had been delivered from an art gallery and was told it was safely stowed onboard. There was nothing left to do but board the jet and find their seats. It seemed like so long ago that they had arrived in the early hours of the morning, still half-drunk from their wedding party totally unaware of the wonderful week that awaited them.

They buckled their seat belts and took each other’s hand as the plane taxied onto the runway. Then began the screaming trip down the runway pushing them back into their seats, then that moment when the wheels left the ground and the jet climbed into the sky. They had a good view of the island and now knew they were looking at one edge of the caldera of an ancient volcano, not just a crescent shaped island. They kissed tenderly as the island grew smaller and smaller and their jet reached altitude.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “Remember the sex we had in that tiny bathroom?”

Lorraine responded, “My cramped feet and knees will never forget! And no, we are not doing it again.”

Philippe said, “Oh, I thought you could climb on that toilet seat on all fours and I could fuck you.”

Lorraine looked at Philippe and asked, “Are you insane? No!”

“I was just teasing, love. I’ll climb on the toilet seat and you can fuck me.” Philippe laughed and said, “Don’t look so worried. I am just joking, really.”

Lorraine thought that it was good to see Philippe smile and laugh but was not very enamored of his “joke.”

Philippe put his arm around Lorraine and hugged him. “If we can’t have sex, then at least we can cuddle. It’s going to be a long, boring four hours.”

“Didn’t you bring a book to read like I told you?”

“No. Don’t feel like reading. What are you going to do?”

“Go through all my work emails and see what has happened since I left.”

“Emails?”

“Yes, I had Leo hold all my emails, but he was to go through them and take care of the urgent matters. He was only supposed to notify me if something very urgent came up. Apparently, nothing came up he felt I just had to handle.”

“Can’t you take care of that tomorrow when you actually GO to work?”

Lorraine went through a few emails and decided Philippe was right. Leo had handled everything and tomorrow they could discuss what had happened. Right now, he was still here with Philippe and they should enjoy themselves while they could. Lorraine turned off his phone and took Philippe’s hand.

“You are right love. There will be time tomorrow for work. Right now, I am here with you.”

Lorraine put his head against Philippe’s shoulder still holding Philippe’s hand. With his other hand, Philippe gently pushed Lorraine’s hair back and kissed him on the cheek, then laid his head against Lorraine’s. The humming of the jet, the large lunch, the beer, last night’s wine and late night all caught up to them. They fell asleep for the rest of the trip. The attendant woke them after they had landed.

They yawned and stretched and tried to get fully awake and ready to face the busy Paris airport. They got off the plane and onto the cart where their baggage was being unloaded. Lorraine watched to be sure they were careful with the crate holding their painting. Soon they were on their way to the terminal. As they went in they could see the other side where their driver awaited them. They also noticed that Fabien was there, too.

Lorraine asked Philippe, “Is Fabien here to welcome us home or is there something going on?”

Philippe answered, “I don’t know. He hasn’t contacted me at all since he left Greece, but then he doesn’t like to use the phone. His presence here is making me nervous.”

Lorraine said, “Well, I guess we will find out in a few minutes after we get through customs.”

The line at customs seemed to take forever, but finally it was their turn. Lorraine saw a cart with what looked like their bags on it and wondered what was up. Usually the baggage went straight through.

“Passports, please,” the agent told them.

They each showed them their passports. “Mr. Lorraine, Mr. Orleans is this your luggage?”

“Yes, it is,” they both said in unison.

“Our scanners have detected something unusual. We would like to inspect this bag, please.” The agent pulled one of Philippe’s bags and laid it on the counter.

Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “What did you put in that bag? You didn’t try to bring in some wine, did you?”

“No, I left that partial bottle of Vinsanto in Oia, as much as it killed me to do so.”

“Please unlock the bag, Mr. Orleans.”

As Philippe dug through his pocket for the key, he suddenly realized what was in that particular bag. He whispered to Lorraine, “Oh, god, it’s the box of sex toys.”

“Then we are okay, there is nothing illegal about them.”

Philippe found the key and handed it to the agent who opened the bag and started removing Philippe’s clothing until he came to the wooden box at the bottom.

“And what is in this box?”

Philippe took a deep breath and answered, “Sex toys. It was our honeymoon.”

The agent looked surprised, then blushed. “I’m sorry, I will have to open it and inspect the contents.”

Philippe said, “They are all clean—we cleaned them this morning just to be sure.”

The agent very gingerly opened the box, afraid to touch anything. He took a look at the contents all nestled in their velvet niches. “You use these things on each other?”

Philippe half-rolled his eyes and said, “Yes. We do, sir.”

The agent wrinkled his nose as he eye-balled each item. His eyes got big when he saw the dildo sitting in its niche. Then he asked, “Is one of you, uh, sexually incapacitated? Is that why you need this?” He pointed with his hand a safe distance from it, like he was afraid it would jump to life or something.

“No sir, we are not. We are perfectly normal, and I think your questions are getting a little too personal. There is nothing illegal in that box. As I said it was our honeymoon. We had a lot of sex as most couples do on honeymoons.”

Lorraine was trying desperately not to laugh. He half hid behind Philippe, so the agent couldn’t see his face.

“And you went to Greece?”

“Yes, sir, Santorini. It was very beautiful.”

“I am not familiar with many of these items. I think I need to bring a supervisor over.” He talked into the mic on his shirt and said, “Please send Benny over here for an inspection.”

When Benny came over, Philippe took one look and knew they would be okay. He smiled at Benny and Benny smiled back. Lorraine recognized the flirt. “What seems to be the problem here?”

“These two gentlemen have just flown back from Greece where they say they have been on their honeymoon. They brought this box of items they say are sex toys. I am not familiar with many of them and am not sure if they pass inspection.” The agent was very uncomfortable.

Benny looked at the box and asked Philippe, “Did you two have a good honeymoon?”

Philippe smiled and said, “Yes, we did.”

“You two make a very handsome couple. I see nothing in this box but sex toys. Perfectly legitimate. Really, Alfonse, you and your wife should try a few of these. I bet she’d love them.”

Alfonse blushed furiously as Benny flipped his hand at him and said, “These pass. Now, politely close this up and put this gentleman’s clothes neatly back in the suitcase and let these gentlemen get on their way.” He turned to Philippe and Lorraine and said, “Congratulations, dears!” and sashayed away.

Alfonse did as he had been told and cleared the luggage and stamped their passports. As soon as they got a safe distance from the agent Lorraine burst out laughing. That made Philippe laugh, too. “What a complete idiot!” Lorraine laughed. “I doubt his wife gets much from him at all, he’s so uptight!” The porter followed them with their luggage.

As they approached their driver and Fabien, Philippe said, “Fabien! Didn’t expect to see you here to welcome us back.”

Fabien answered, “Well, I am here partly as a friend to welcome you back and as your security to talk to you about an issue when we are in a quiet place.”

Philippe made a face and asked, “Is it about what happened in Greece?”

“Yes, it is, but it is good news. We’ll talk in the car. How was the rest of your honeymoon?”

Philippe and Lorraine told Fabien about the fabulous restaurants and wines as they walked to the car. Fabien remarked, “You both look a little tanned and so relaxed and happy. I can tell the trip was very good for you.”

When they got to the car, the porter and driver tried to put all the luggage in the trunk of the car, but it wouldn’t fit. There also was nowhere to put the crate containing the painting.

The porter said that he could get a van that could handle all the luggage and the painting and deliver it to their home for a small fee. Fabien asked it they had a permit to provide the services. The porter told them that it was his brother’s van and he had no permit. The porter told them they could rent a van through the airport services, but it would take a while for one to be available.

Fabien studied the porter who shifted nervously under Fabien’s fierce glare. “I will go with you to ensure these items get delivered. Be aware that I am armed and head of his security team. You do not want to cross me.”

“I assure you, sir, all my brother and I want to do is make a little money off the delivery and provide a service.  I have to stay here to work, but my brother will do the driving. Let me call him. He is over in parking.”

Soon the van and the porter’s brother pulled up. Fabien insisted on inspecting the van and ensured there were no weapons hidden anywhere in the van. The brother was even skinnier and scrawnier than the porter. Fabien knew he could easily handle him if the situation warranted it. They loaded the van and pulled away with Fabien in the front passenger seat.

Philippe and Lorraine got in their car and were soon pulling into the garage of their home. Inside, they saw a note from Marda telling them she had left dinner in the fridge for them. All they had to do was put it in the oven, set the oven to 350 and cook it for forty-five minutes. There was also a cheese and fruit plate for them to snack on until the food was ready. The house was freshly cleaned for them, the bed linens washed and the bed ready for them. Lorraine knew he was lucky to have such an efficient and considerate cook and house manager in Marda. The note also said that all the unopened wedding presents were in one of the spare bedrooms.

Lorraine sighed and said, “Guess we need to make a decision on how we want to handle the wedding presents fairly quickly. People will be expecting thank you’s.”

“As soon as our Greek dancer costumes come maybe we could have a Greek-styled wedding present opening party,” Philippe suggested.

“I wonder how long it will take for our things to arrive from Greece.”

“I’m wondering how long it will take Fabien to get here. They should not have been too far behind us.”

Lorraine said, “I can’t wait to see how that painting looks in the bedroom! Maybe Fabien will help us hang it.”

Then they heard the honk signaling that the van had arrived. Lorraine opened the garage, so they could enter, and both he and Philippe went down to help unload the van. When everything was upstairs, Lorraine paid the guy and thanked him.

Upstairs, Philippe told Fabien, “Okay, what was it you needed to tell me?”

“Just that I spoke with the two women you encountered.”

“How did that go?”

“Let us just say that neither woman has a desire to go anywhere near you again. I don’t think they will be making any more trips to Santorini, either, because, let’s just say, they are under the impression they will be arrested on sight.”

“You didn’t do anything that could get you in trouble, did you?”

“No, I didn’t threaten physical harm or say anything that they could bring against me to the authorities. But I did let them know that they made a big mistake putting drugs into your drinks. That is a crime. I told them the authorities in Santorini know that they did this and were not happy about their attempted scam.”

“But won’t they just think it is our word against theirs?”

“I did tell a little lie. I told her you had set up a security system in the villa and we had footage of them spiking your drinks. If they come anywhere near you two, I will bring this footage to the authorities and have them arrested. They are under the impression that the French police would have no hesitation in extraditing them to stand trial in Greece.”

“If we had that footage would the French police do that?”

“Yes, legally that could be done. But it involves a lot of paperwork and this crime is not sufficiently serious enough—especially since it was a failed attempt—to warrant going through the process. But I omitted that part when I talked to them. I also told them that I know everything about them, where they work, live, their routines. If there is any trouble from them, they are aware I will know it immediately.”

“Sounds  like you have been very thorough. Thank you.”

Fabien asked, “I know you might want to see them punished, but you may just need to settle for them being so scared they don’t try this again. I also gave them the contact information for a couple of legitimate sperm banks.”

Philippe sighed and said, “I don’t know. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach. If I were a woman and a man did that to me, the authorities would be all over it. I know I probably just need to swallow my pride and forget about it. I think you have done the most that can be done under the circumstances. Thank you for taking care of this so quickly for me. You are the best head of security ever.”

Fabien answered, “Thanks. In matters like these, time matters because evidence disappears and memories fade.”

Lorraine decided a change of subject was in order. “Fabien, would you help us to hang the painting we brought from Oia?”

“Is that what is in that large crate?”

“Yes, it is a painting of the ocean. We want to put it in our bedroom to remind us of the good time we had there.”

“Certainly, I don’t mind helping, but that is a very large painting and I am not sure what the best way would be to hang it. I think it might pull regular nails out of the wall with its weight.”

“Oh, you are right. Well, can you help us get it out of the crate? We can set it against the wall until I can get someone professional here to hang it.”

“Gladly.”

The crate was heavy, so Fabien suggested they take it out of the crate where it was, then carry the painting itself into the bedroom. When the painting was unveiled, Fabien commented on how very beautiful it was. Fabien didn’t ask why they wanted it in the bedroom instead of the living room because he had a very good idea why. He figured they probably spent some of their best times in the bedroom in Oia. That is probably where he and Claudine would have spent a lot of time, too.

Fabien stated, “If there is nothing else you need from me tonight, I’ll head home to Claudine.”

Philippe and Lorraine thanked Fabien who left.

Philippe said, “So, it is just the two of us. What now?” He was eyeing Lorraine with a sly smile.

“First, we eat. Then I need a shower. Do you want to join me?”

“Shall we have some wine with our supper? I’ll open a bottle, so we can have something with our fruit and cheese. Too bad none of the wine I ordered in Santorini has gotten here.”

“We will just have to settle for plain old non-Greek wine, love.”

“It’s not that plain—remember I only buy the best wine.”

“Yes, Philippe, my love, I know that. Just pushing your buttons.”

Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s face with both hands and pulled him towards him, saying, “Let me push a few of your buttons!” and proceeded to kiss him, long and hard. “You know, we’ve got forty-five minutes until the food is ready.”

“I really need a shower, love.”

“Then, let’s start with a shower. Let’s set the timer on the oven so we will know when it is done.”

They both went over to the oven and looked at all the dials. “I think this is how you set the timer.” Philippe pushed some buttons and the forty-five minutes was showing and started counting down. “There, I think that did it.”

“How come the oven doesn’t feel warm?”

“It takes a while for it to warm up, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, I guess, so.”

Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and pushed him towards the bedroom. In the bedroom, they took each other’s clothes off as they kissed and caressed each other. They worked their way into the shower where Philippe pushed Lorraine against the shower wall and kissed him while his hands slowly moved downward. Philippe’s lips worked down to Lorraine’s neck kissing and sucking. Meanwhile Philippe’s hands stopped on Lorraine’s hips, then moved to cup his buttocks and pull his body hard against his own.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “This is our first time in the shower since we got married, love. Now I get to do this to you, legally.”  He sucked where Lorraine’s neck joined his shoulder, then moved down to his nipple where his tongue teased it. His hands continued to squeeze and play with Lorraine’s buttocks, moved down to the back of his thighs, then slowly squeezed his way forward and to the inside of his thighs. He grasped Lorraine’s cock which had started to respond. Philippe knelt and took Lorraine’s cock in his mouth. Lorraine groaned as Philippe slowly ran his mouth up and down his cock, stopping here and there to tease with his tongue.

Lorraine was surprised when Philippe stopped and stood up. “Here, I brought some oil in for us.” He took the oil from the shower shelf where he had placed it. He handed Lorraine the oil and turned around. Lorraine moved Philippe’s wet hair to the side and kissed the back of Philippe’s neck as his hands opened the oil bottle. He poured oil onto the fingers and palm of one hand. He soon had Philippe ready to receive him. He held onto Philippe’s hips as he gently entered him. Philippe moaned as Lorraine began his slow thrusts. Philippe braced himself with his hands against the wall of the shower as things got more intense. Soon, they were both grunting and moaning as Lorraine quickened and deepened his thrusts. As all the nerves in his cock fired, Lorraine moaned “Oh god, Philippe,” and made three more slow deep thrusts before he finished. He leaned against Philippe’s back, put his arms around him and kissed the back of Philippe’s neck.

“Thank you, love, for letting me go first.”

“Let’s move this to the bedroom. The water is getting cold and I am turning into one giant prune.”

Lorraine withdrew and turned Philippe around to kiss him. After the kiss, they turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. They dried each other off with freshly washed and very soft towels. Marda had thought of all the details of their return.

In the bedroom, Lorraine pushed Philippe gently down onto the edge of the bed and knelt between his legs. “Oh my, you have turned into a prune! I’m not sure if I can resuscitate that or not.”

Philippe retorted, “That is not a nice thing to say!”

“Love, I was just teasing. You know I love your big beautiful cock.” He took it carefully in his hands and caressed it.

Philippe said, “Oh, shut up and get...” Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s mouth made contact and did its work to give him a good solid erection.

Philippe moaned when Lorraine took his mouth off and said, “Now on to the next part, love.” Lorraine climbed onto the bed and grabbed a couple of pillows. He laid down on the bed and put the pillows under his hips. “Help me get these arranged, love.”

Philippe understood what was to happen next and crawled onto the bed to help Lorraine get the pillows under his hips to elevate them. Philippe leaned over and gave Lorraine a big kiss. “You are about to see what my little prune can do to you, love,” he said as he reached for the oil. With the other hand, he gently spread Lorraine’s legs and moved in between them on his knees. He poured some oil onto his hand and swirled his fingers in it. Lorraine reacted with a grunt as Philippe prepared him with his fingers, then slowly slipped the tip of his cock in. He worked it slowly and gently in and out until his full length was in, then he began slow thrusts as Lorraine moaned. He placed his hands onto Lorraine’s hips to raise them slightly for better penetration. With each thrust, the sensations grew. He wanted to take it slower, but his cock had a mind of its own. Both he and Lorraine were grunting and making little ”uhnnn” type noises as he pushed his cock in and out. Then Philippe felt the nerves in his cock release as an intense orgasm took control of him. “Oh, god!” he cried as he squeezed the last of his seed into Lorraine. He heard Lorraine moaning as he collapsed on top of him and laid his head on Lorraine’s chest. He was panting heavily and trying to steady his breathing as he listened to Lorraine’s heart racing. Or was that his own heart?

“Love are you okay?” Lorraine was asking.

Philippe managed to answer, “Yes. Are you?”

“Perfectly fine. That little prune of yours is amazing, love.”

“Please stop calling it a prune. It’s my cock, ok?”

“Yes, dear, your wonderful, talented, manly cock. I give you permission to fuck me with that beautiful cock any time of any day you want. I love your cock and I love you.” Lorraine kissed the top of Philippe’s head.

They lay there for a while, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Finally, Lorraine said, “I wonder how long before the alarm goes off on the oven. I’m getting hungry.”

“Funny, but I don’t smell anything cooking. Do you?”

“No, I don’t. Surely it has been forty-five minutes already.”

“Why don’t you get up and check on it.”

“Me? You are the one on top. You check on it.”

“I will in a minute.”

“Maybe it went off and we didn’t hear it because we were preoccupied.”

“Maybe.” Philippe showed no signs of stirring.

Lorraine said, “Well,  I guess if it were burning, we’d smell that.”

Philippe finally made a move. He withdrew and rolled onto his back beside Lorraine. “Now, you can go check on it.”

Lorraine asked, “Me? Why me?”

Philippe answered, “Because I just did all the work. You just laid there. Love.” Philippe added that last “Love” because he knew he was treading in dangerous water. When Lorraine didn’t answer, Philippe knew he had pushed it too far. “Okay. I will go check on the food, love. You just lay there and rest. You worked hard on me earlier.”

“No, I’ll get up and check.” Lorraine rolled out of bed before Philippe could answer. Philippe laid there for a minute trying to decide what to do. He had the distinct impression, Lorraine was not happy with him at the moment. He decided joining Lorraine in the kitchen was the best thing to do.

Lorraine had the oven door open and was touching the baking dish with his finger. That wasn’t a good sign. Philippe asked, “Is it ready?”

“No, I think that was a timer to turn the oven on, not to cook the food. The oven is just starting to heat up.”

“Oh. So, the food has just been sitting there for forty-five minutes? Out of the fridge?”

“Yes, and I don’t think I want to eat it. I don’t know how long it takes for bacteria to form and I don’t want to take a chance.”

“Maybe we should have Marda give us a demonstration on how to use the oven.”

“Yes, that would probably be a good idea. What time is it? Is it too late to order some delivery?”

“I think that Chinese place is still open for delivery.”

Lorraine dug through a drawer by the phone for the menu. They studied it a few minutes and made up their minds what they wanted and called the order in.

Philippe said, “Well, the wine I opened has had plenty of time to breathe and the ice kept it cold. Not all is lost.” Philippe emptied the melted ice from the bucket and added more ice. He poured two glasses for them and took the glasses and the wine bucket with him as they went into the living room.

“Shall we turn on the fireplace? It’s not that cold, but it is fun to watch.”

“Yes, I have missed it,” Philippe answered. He placed the bucket on the coffee table and handed Lorraine a glass, then sat down beside him. “It is my fault the food didn’t cook, love. I thought I had the timer set right.”

“No, I watched you and if anybody should know how to set the oven timer, it is me. It is a good thing we have Marda because I am afraid if we were left to our own devices to fend for ourselves, we would starve.”

“No, we wouldn’t. We would eat a lot of take out.” They both laughed.

It wasn’t too long before the food delivery was made, and they were digging into some delicious Moo Shu Pork.

Lorraine said, “When we get done with this, we are going to have to dump that casserole stuff into a trash bag and put all these take-out boxes in the bag and take it down to the trash. And tomorrow we tell Marda how great her food was.”

“You would lie to her?”

“Do _you_ want to tell her the truth?”

“Me? No, not at all. Okay, we lie.”

When they finished off the food, they did as they planned taking care to note what it was that Marda had cooked for them.

They sat by the fireplace, drinking wine and cuddling. When the bottle was empty, they decided it was time for bed. As they were brushing their teeth, Philippe said, “It is good to be here with you, love. Doing the normal things that any husbands would do.”

“Yes, it is good to be able to call you ‘husband’ and to know we have each other and no one can say or do anything to change that. I think if we had been able to officially marry in Versailles, we would not have had as many fights and arguments. The fact that Louis could banish me at any time made me so insecure. You have no idea how crazy it made me at times. He was your brother, so he was not going to do anything to you, but I know he disapproved of what you and I had together.”

“I can only imagine, love. I was torn between my duty to him and my love for you. But that is all behind us, love. Louis has no control over our lives, and I would be happy if I didn’t ever have to see him again.”

“I agree.”

They climbed into bed and wrapped their arms around each other, laying face to face. They kissed tenderly, then closed their eyes. They were asleep within minutes. Yes, they were back home in Paris. And they were now a happily married couple.  Life was good.


	52. Married Life Begns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe are back from their honeymoon. On his first day back at work, Lorraine learns he has lost one of his major clients while on honeymoon. He and Leo come up with a plan for the House of Lorraine's new Chevalier Line that he is not sure Philippe will like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long absence. I was tied up in so many other things. But I am back now and will continue to post more. The story of modern MonChevy has barely begun. Thank you all for your support and for reading.

The next morning, the alarm going off woke Lorraine up. Lorraine groaned as he realized he had to get up and go to work. The only problem was that Philippe was laying on him. Philippe’s head was on his chest, his arm was wrapped around him and his leg was draped across his. It would be almost impossible to disentangle himself from Philippe without waking him. If he woke Philippe he knew what he would want, and Lorraine didn’t think he would have time for that. He slowly started to disentangle himself from Philippe but saw Philippe’s eyes flutter open.

“Morning, love! Glad  to see you awake. Do we have time for a little fun before you run off to work?”

Lorraine started to answer, “Not really, I—” but Philippe’s mouth on his cock stopped him short and made him moan. Philippe wasted no time and had Lorraine crying out in pleasure as his mouth finished him off.

When Philippe was done, he looked up at Lorraine and said, “I knew you’d be in a hurry, and I wanted to give you a little something to make you think of me all day.”

Lorraine pulled Philippe up to him and kissed him, long and hard. “Love, I will do nothing but think of you all day. I’m sorry but I don’t have time to reciprocate this morning.”

“Are you coming home for lunch?” Philippe asked with a gleam in his eye.

“I really don’t think so, love. There will be so much to catch up on. I’ll try but I can’t promise.”

“Then I will just have to wait until tonight then.”

“Love, can you see if you can find someone to hang that painting today?”

“Yes, I will get that done for you. I’m also going to check to see if there are any Greek bands available for our Greek wedding-present-opening party.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe tenderly, “Sounds absolutely splendid! Now I need to take a shower and get to work.”

Philippe asked, “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Of course not, love.”

They both crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom. Soon they were in the shower together and Philippe offered to scrub Lorraine’s back. Philippe’s hands felt so good on his back that he felt he needed to return the favor and scrub Philippe’s back. Philippe protested saying Lorraine didn’t have the time, but Lorraine insisted.

Lorraine scrubbed Philippe’s back, then his hand and the loofah went down to Philippe’s buttocks. Scrubbing turned into groping and squeezing, then Lorraine turned Philippe around and his hands wrapped gently around Philippe’s cock. As he ran his hands up and down, Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “I am the boss, so I can take the time to do whatever I want to do, and this is what I want to do now, love.”

Lorraine knelt. Philippe moaned and leaned back against the wall of the shower as Lorraine’s mouth performed its magic. He cried out “Oh, god love!” as the nerves fired, and he released his seed. Lorraine stood up, took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him.

“Now, love, you have something to remember me by today. Now I really need to hurry.”

But Philippe wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly ending with a tender kiss. “Now, you can hurry off, love. See you tonight.”

Lorraine dried himself off quickly and went in to the bedroom to dress and comb out his wet hair. There was no time to do anything but add a little gel to his hair to keep it sleek and comb it back to air dry. Thankfully, his driver was downstairs waiting for him.

In the car, Lorraine had a few minutes to go through the latest emails and was alarmed at one from Leo saying, “Bad news about Humphrey. Talk when you return.” Humphrey was one of their biggest clients, but a real pain in the ass. There were times when Lorraine had been so frustrated in dealing with the demanding, unthankful jerk that he thought about dropping him as a client. But the money he got from Humphrey’s business was just too good. Humphrey ran a chain of hotels. Humphrey depended on Lorraine for his own personal fashion but also entrusted the uniforms of all his hotel employees to Lorraine. That was where the real money was. Humphrey liked to change out the uniforms quite frequently but rarely gave adequate notice. He would come in and want all new maid uniforms for all his hotels but only give a week’s turnaround. Lorraine would have to put everything aside and design the uniforms then work his teams of pattern makers, sewers, and fitters overtime to get them all made and properly fitted to each employee. He wondered what outrageous demands Humphrey had now and felt his stomach churning in anticipation.

Leo greeted him with, “You look so well, tanned and fit. There is also a smile on your face. It must have been a great honeymoon. How is Mr. Orleans?”

“My husband,” Lorraine thrilled at being able to say that, “is doing very well, thank you, Leo. And, yes, Santorini is a wonderful place and the perfect spot for a honeymoon. We had an amazing time. Now, what do you have to tell me about Humphrey?”

He saw Leo blanche a little as he struggled to find the words “Well, sir, he came in midweek and was very unhappy that you were not here. I tried to convince him that I could help him, but he never gave me a chance. He demanded that I call you and tell you to return immediately. I explained you were on your honeymoon, but he insisted I call you. I told him I was not going to interrupt your honeymoon. I hope that it was the correct thing to do, sir. You only had a few more days left, and he was being very unreasonable.”

“Thank you, Leo, I appreciate you putting yourself out there to protect my interests. If you had called me, I would have been very unhappy. So, what was his response?” Lorraine could tell from the way Leo was acting that the news was not good.

“Well, sir, he fired us!” Leo looked devastated.

Lorraine sighed and thought before he answered. “Leo, you did the right thing. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Humphrey’s demands have been getting worse and worse. They disrupt the service I give to other clients and because of all the extra costs in meeting his demands, I have been making less and less money from him. Still, it was a very large account and it is going to hurt to lose it. I will need to find something very quickly to replace it or I may have to do temporary cutbacks. Come, let’s go to my office and go over the rest of the emails and you can tell me what else has happened in the week I was away.”

As they made their way to his office, Lorraine told his assistant to get them a couple of Irish coffees. That meant for the assistant to add Bailey’s Irish cream and a good shot of whiskey to the coffee. “Double the whiskey on mine, please.” He was going to need it to get him through this day.  Fortunately, most of what he and Leo went over was positive. Leo had handled the negative things as well as he, himself, would have. Of particular interest, were several possible new clients. His priority would be to get with them as soon as possible to see what their business might offer. His other plan of attack was to push the new Chevalier line of clothing.  If he could get brisk sales going on that, the infusion of money would help.

Then he remembered he was supposed to design Philippe’s stage clothes for the tour. An idea started to form in is mind. What if Philippe agreed to be the “face” of the Chevalier line of clothing? Somehow connect the line with Philippe’s music and tour. Would that even work?

He mentioned it to Leo and Leo’s face lit up. “Yes! That would be insanely smart! You could tap into a whole new market. You could make long hair and the rock style popular again.”

The question was, how would Philippe feel about it? The first thing Philippe would say would be that he was NOT a runway model. And he wasn’t. What if Philippe came out on the runway and performed some of his songs as the models walked? Of course, that would require getting permission from Philippe’s record company. Lorraine and Leo worked on a plan of action, then turned to other matters. All day, in the back of Lorraine’s mind he kept turning over ideas on how to present this to Philippe. If Philippe didn’t agree to it, the plan would be dead in the water.

On the way home that evening, Lorraine tried to decide exactly how to explain what he would say to convince Philippe to merge his music and tour with Lorraine’s Chevalier line. He was a nervous wreck when he thought of all the things Philippe could say—most of them negative. The worst thing would be if Philippe thought Lorraine was trying to use him—and Lorraine knew he _was_ using Philippe in a way. Too soon the car was pulling into the garage.

Philippe was waiting for him at the door with a glass of wine. “Hello, love! Hope you had a wonderful day.” Philippe stopped and looked at Lorraine. “Oh, I guess the day wasn’t so great from that worried look on your face. Here, have a glass of wine and unwind.” Philippe leaned in and gave Lorraine a soft kiss, then handed the wine to him.

“Thank you, love. There was a lot to catch up on. The biggest being the loss of one of my largest clients.”

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Was it something Leo did?”

“Well, yes and no. Get yourself a glass of wine and let’s go sit on the couch.”

“Marda made us a wonderful supper. It’s in the oven and should be ready in about ten minutes.”

“Good, that will give me time to unwind.”

They sat on the couch and sipped their wine for a few minutes before Philippe said, “Now tell me all about it. How did you lose that big client?”

“It was Humphrey—I think I’ve told you how big of a pain he can be.”

“Yes, many times. What did he do this time?”

“He came in demanding Leo call me back from the honeymoon. He wanted to change out all his bellhop uniforms. Leo refused to do it and so he fired us. Although he was our biggest client, I am glad. I was tired of dealing with him and his demands. There are several good prospects for new customers and now I have the time to pursue them.”

Philippe thought of what it would have done to their honeymoon if Leo had called them with the demand. “I appreciate that Leo had the balls to stand up to that man and not interrupt our honeymoon. That would have been terrible. If you had said no and we continued the honeymoon, it would have eaten at you the rest of the time and ruined everything.” Philippe put his finger under Lorraine’s chin and raised his face to look at him. “Something else is bothering you. I can see it in your face, love. Out with it.”

Lorraine looked at Philippe and said, “You know I love and respect you and would never do anything to disrespect you or use you.”

Philippe wasn’t sure he liked where this was going.

Lorraine continued, “But I am asking you this out of desperation and need. Because of losing the Humphrey account, I need for the Chevalier line to be wildly successful. I was thinking we could tie it in to the clothes I will be doing for your tour and with your tour. If we got permission from your record execs, you could be part of the Chevalier fashion shows.”

Philippe looked totally shocked. “You want _me_ to be a model?”

“Nooo, uh, I want you to perform your music on the runway, while the models do their walk.”

“Which music? The music I have developed for your shows? I haven’t really developed that for a single performer. I was doing it for a small orchestra to be recorded and played on the runway.”

Lorraine took a deep breath and said, “What about your upcoming album. Could you do a keyboard version of that or something? What I am thinking of is merging the Chevalier line with your album and tour. Is that insane?”

Philippe was quiet and there was little expression on his face as he thought. Lorraine could not tell at all what Philippe was thinking or even if he was upset. He knew it was best to let Philippe process what he had just said. Lorraine fought to keep himself from begging and pleading.

Finally, Philippe spoke. “You want me on the runway playing my album during your Chevalier runway shows. Am I understanding that correctly?”

“Yes, that is right.”

“What happens when my tour starts? I can’t be at both places.”

“I am hoping the heavy publicity part of the Chevalier release will be over by then.”

“But I am not the Chevalier, you are. It feels weird aligning myself as the Chevalier.”

“No, you are not acting as the Chevalier. Maybe we could both come out on stage together and I introduce myself as a descendant of the Chevalier d’Lorraine and say something like and this is the descendant of the Chevalier’s lifelong love, Phillipe duc d’Orleans. Maybe I could even say something like we, the descendants of the famous lovers, have done what was not possible for them, we have married and now Philippe Orleans has graciously agreed to play music from his upcoming album for my Chevalier line runway show to honor the love our descendants had for each other. I’ll get my speechwriter to clean it up and make it sound better, but you get the idea.”

“So, I’ll be with you on your runway shows?”

“Yes, you would.”

“Then, yes, I’ll do it, if you promise to be with me on my tour.”

“What would I do? I can’t just stand there.”

“I’ve heard you sing. You have a beautiful voice—probably much better than mine. We could do a duet together. There are several songs that would work for it.”

“What would your record company say?”

“They will do what I demand. And I think they will see it as a big boost in publicity. I sell albums and tickets, you sell clothes, everyone is happy.”

Lorraine just sat there in shock for a moment. He had not expected Philippe to be so on board with the idea. He had expected resistance and even outright rejection. Finally, Lorraine asked, “You don’t mind that we are using who we are and our marriage to make money?”

“That’s all part of the game, love. I have used who I was to publicize my music for years. You do whatever it takes and what we have is worth a lot as far as publicity is concerned. People will eat it up.”

“You don’t think it will cheapen our relationship?”

Philippe made a face. “No. Our relationship is what we make it. You and I in private are totally separate from all that public stuff. Let the world see how much we love each other! Let them see ‘Love is Love’ in action. Freddie Mercury never backed away from who and what he was, and people loved him for it. I just want to be me in love with you.”

Philippe took a long swig of wine then leaned over and kissed Lorraine. It started tender and soft, then grew in intensity. Lorraine responded and for a few minutes there was nothing or no one else in the world but the two of them. The kiss ended when the timer bell on the oven went off. They broke off the kiss and Lorraine said softly, “I have never loved you as much as I love you right now.”

Philippe smiled and said, “When we go in the bedroom, you are going to love me even more.”

Lorraine mistook his words as referring to the sex they were sure to have later in the evening and smiled. “I imagine I will, love.”

The food was smelling delicious and they both were hungry, so they got up to go eat their dinner. After dinner they returned to the couch to drink wine and kiss. As their kissing grew more passionate, Philippe said, “Let’s take this to the bedroom, love.” Philippe stood up and pulled Lorraine up. He put his arm around his waist and they walked to the bedroom.

Lorraine was saying, “I don’t understand your rush to get to the bedroom—oh! It’s beautiful!”

Philippe had found someone to hang the painting on the wall opposite their bed. The painting was so well done it could almost make you think you were listening to the ebb and flow of the ocean. Philippe explained how they had used special expanding screws placed so that the weight was distributed evenly. There was also a guarantee that if, for any reason, the screws failed, they would reimburse the cost. They would also fix any damage and redo the hanging for free.

Lorraine told Philippe, “You did a great job, love and you got it done very quickly. Now we can lie in bed and be transported back to Oia.”

Philippe said, “Yes, and I remember all the things we did there.” He took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him, pushing him gently backwards toward the bed. His hands started undoing the buttons of Lorraine’s shirt as he kissed him. “Forget about work and think only of me and what I am doing to you, love.” Philippe pulled Lorraine’s shirt off and he kissed Lorraine’s bare neck while running his hands over his shoulders, his chest and his sides. His hands found the button on his pants and undid it, then slid the zipper down. He pushed Lorraine onto the bed and slid his pants off him. He quickly undid the buttons on his own shirt and threw it on the floor with the other clothes. Then he undid his pants and shimmied out of them. He climbed on top of Lorraine on the bed and kissed him long and hard. When the kiss was done, Philippe stroked Lorraine’s face.

“My dear, dear Chevalier. My husband and my love.” His fingers traced the outline of Lorraine’s face. Then he kissed him tenderly. “I have thought of you all day, love. I know you have been at work and haven’t had the same luxury as I.”

“Oh, but my dear, I, too think of you. Maybe not as often, but you are always at the back of my mind ready to come forward at any peaceful moment.”

Philippe kissed his Chevalier again, pressing his body against Lorraine’s. The Chevalier responded with intensity, returning his kiss while his hands ran over Philippe’s back reveling in the feel of flesh over muscles and bone. Philippe sucked on his neck then ran his tongue down to his chest where he nibbled gently on a nipple. Lorraine writhed and pushed his body against Philippe’s. Philippe’s mouth worked its way down to Lorraine’s belly, sucking, licking and nibbling. Lorraine writhed in anticipation and moaned when Philippe’s mouth made contact. Philippe put his mouth over the head of Lorraine’s cock and ran his tongue teasingly over it. Lorraine writhed as the blood flowed in response Philippe’s attentions. Philippe slowly took in more of Lorraine’s cock, then slowly moved his mouth upward. Lorraine moaned and pushed his hips upwards. Philippe stopped his teasing and began his actions in earnest. His attentions brought the result he wanted as Lorraine moaned loudly and cried out, “God, love, Oh godddd!”

Philippe worked his way back up to Lorraine’s face and kissed him. Lorraine ran his fingertips over Philippe’s mouth. Lorraine said softly, “I love the wonders these lips perform,” then he kissed those soft lips. During the kiss, he grasped Philippe’s shoulders and pushed him over to lay on the bed, rolling to be on top of Philippe.

Philippe smiled and said, “I am yours love, do with me what you want.”

Lorraine responded, “I have dreamed of this all day, love. Me on top of you, and both of us naked.” Lorraine kissed Philippe fervently. He moved his mouth down to Philippe’s neck. God, how he loved that pale, soft neck. His hands roamed downward as he kissed that soft neck. His hands found Philippe’s cock. Philippe began to moan but Lorraine put his mouth over his mouth and kissed Philippe. He continued to suck on Philippe’s neck while his hands ran slowly up and down Philippe’s hardening cock. Lorraine kissed Philippe again, then slid down and put his mouth to work. Philippe moaned and writhed as Lorraine’s mouth did its work. Lorraine slid his hands under Philippe’s buttocks and pushed him up as his mouth continued stimulating Philippe. Before long, Philippe let out a loud moan and an “Oh, goddd!”

Lorraine moved back up to kiss Philippe. He whispered, “And that love, is what I have dreamed about all day. Thank you, love.”

They lay there for a while, then Lorraine rolled off Philippe to lay next to him. Philippe reached out and pulled Lorraine to him. Lorraine put his head on Philippe’s chest and Philippe put his arm around him. They lay there until they fell asleep. The day may have been trying, but the two of them had found peace in each other. They fell asleep to the sound of their heart beats.


	53. A Dream From the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they settle back into a routine, Lorraine has a dream from the past of a battle where he, the Chevalier d'Lorraine, was injured and learned just how much he meant to the Monsieur and the Monsieur meant to him. He also looks back on the exploration of his own sexuality as a thirteen year old.

The next few days were mostly routine. Philippe searched for Greek musicians and collected some names of musicians he wanted to audition. He also went over the songs from his new album to see which ones would make for good duets. He called his agent and told her about the ideas he and Lorraine had. She agreed to present the ideas to the record company.

Lorraine was consumed with work. He met with prospective new clients and managed to get three new accounts. The downside to that was, it meant he was inundated with designing new fashions for each client. One of the new clients owned a series of different restaurants and he needed uniforms for each restaurant, but each restaurant served a different style of food and each had their own unique atmosphere and style. Therefore, Lorraine had to design different uniforms for each, and the owner didn’t want them to _look_ like uniforms.

Lorraine was up early every day and came home exhausted with his mind still filled with work worries. Philippe always greeted him with a glass of wine and sat down with him to let him talk out the worries of the day. Then Philippe would slowly seduce him with a serious make-out session that took Lorraine’s mind off work worries. It would, of course, end with sex that reconfirmed their love for each other. Lorraine was struck by the patience and love Philippe showed him.

It was Friday afternoon, the end of Lorraine’s work week—or it should have been. Lorraine called Philippe at home and told him he had made reservations for them at one of their favorite restaurants for eight that evening. Lorraine got home at six thirty with Philippe waiting for him with his glass of wine.

Philippe kissed him softly and they went to the couch to sip their wine and unwind. “So, love, how did your day go?” Philippe asked.

Lorraine sighed and answered, “Very busy. I got the designs for Samuels approved and the pattern makers are working on the patterns. They are going to work tomorrow so we can start making the uniforms Monday. I will have to go in and check on them tomorrow afternoon.”

“Does that mean we can sleep in tomorrow then?”

Lorraine smiled and said, “Yes, love. That will be delightful for a change.”

Philippe kissed his cheek. “I’ve missed our mornings together. I will make sure tomorrow morning is a good one.”

Lorraine responded, “Love, you don’t know how hard it is for me to get up and see you sleeping there. Every day I want to crawl back into bed with you and do things to you.” Lorraine kissed Philippe hungrily. Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “I have a whole week of things I am going to do to you tonight and tomorrow.”

They continued kissing for a while until Lorraine said, “Love, I need a shower before we go, want to join me?”

They went to the bedroom and helped each other remove their clothes, then got in the shower. They scrubbed each other with soapy loofahs, then Lorraine pushed Philippe against the shower wall and kissed him, then kneeled kissing Philippe’s body as he went down. Philippe’s smile turned into a moan as Lorraine’s mouth made contact. Before long, Philippe was crying out as Lorraine brought him to a climax. Lorraine stood up and kissed Philippe tenderly, wrapping his arms around him.

Philippe said, “Let’s get out of the shower and dry off, love.”

They kissed, then got out of the shower and dried each other off. Philippe kissed Lorraine then pushed him towards the bedroom. He whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Now, it is my turn to drain all the thoughts of work from your mind, love.” He gently pushed Lorraine to sit on the edge of the bed. He took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. Then he went down to his knees and put his hands on the top of Lorraine’s thighs. He gently pushed his legs apart and grasped Lorraine’s cock. Lorraine moaned as Philippe’s mouth made contact. True to his word,  Philippe helped Lorraine forget about everything except the sensations Philippe’s mouth was eliciting from him. All thought of work was gone by the time Lorraine moaned and cried, “Oh, goddd, Philippe!”

Philippe stood up and leaned in to give Lorraine a long, gentle kiss. “You are smiling, love.”

Lorraine answered, “Thanks to you. You put this smile on my face. Now let’s get ready for our dinner reservations!”

They dressed and were soon on their way to a bistro Lorraine had discovered several years ago. It was unpretentious and served good solid food. It also had a good wine list and a cozy atmosphere. The owner and staff knew Lorraine and Philippe and greeted them with “Congratulations!” The owner told them the first bottle of wine of their choice was on the house for the newlyweds. They were led to their special spot in the back of the bistro where they had some privacy and could watch the rest of the diners. 

They ordered French onion soup to start and a good bottle of red wine. Lorraine ordered coq au vin and Philippe ordered beef bourguignon. Philippe always ordered the chocolate mousse while Lorraine liked the pear tartine.

As they waited for the soup, Philippe told Lorraine about the Greek bands he had lined up to audition the next week. Philippe also had several Greek caterers ready to bring samples of their food the next week. Lorraine loved that Philippe was having so much fun planning this party. They brought out the wine, presented it and Philippe approved it. They toasted each other with the first glasses that were poured. Lorraine remarked how good the wine was and Philippe beamed at the approval.

The soups came and they both enjoyed breaking through the toasted French bread topped with a good helping of gooey cheese to the rich beef broth with onions. They drank another glass of wine with the soup. They were sipping on their third glass when the entrees were brought. Philippe asked for another bottle of the same wine. As usual they sampled each other’s entrees.

Lorraine said, “I forgot how much I love coq au vin. You can’t beat chicken and vegetable braised in wine.”

“Are you saying it is better than the lobster in Santorini?”

“No, not at all. This is the best preparation for chicken. The lobster we had in Santorini was the best preparation for lobster. And there is some nostalgia for me when I eat this coq au vin.”

“Oh really? What are you remembering?”

“All the times I’ve enjoyed coq au vin here over the last few years.”

“And the many different partners you had it with?”

Lorraine smiled, reached over and stroked Philippe’s face. “Love, all those other partners are just nameless faces to me now. Yours is the only face I think of when I think lover and companion. I also came here with friends and co-workers. Leo and I celebrated many fine work victories here. This has been a nice comfortable place for me over the years.”

“And I am glad to be here with you now. I am sorry I am so quick to feel jealousy over you. I will have to work on that.”

Lorraine bent over and kissed Philippe softly, “You are the center of my world, now, love. I only love you.”

They continued eating their entrees, stopping to chat about this or that, and for the occasional kiss. When the desserts were brought, Philippe was happy to see that the chocolate mousse was garnished with fresh strawberry slices. He had forgotten that he always ordered it that way and was pleased they remembered for him.

“My two favorite foods, chocolate mousse and strawberries!”

Philippe’s smile made Lorraine so very happy. He took a bite of his tartine. They always managed to keep the pears just slightly crisp and not mushy. The crust was so buttery and the glaze, heavenly. The food here was always very well prepared and the atmosphere so relaxing. The last week had been a rough one for him and it was good to finally have time to kick back and relax. He thought back to the selfless attention Philippe had given him in the evenings. He was always there to greet him with a glass of wine, willing to listen to him gripe about work, then slowly seduce him away from the troubles of the day into wonderful lovemaking.

Lorraine gently took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him. “Thank you, love for being so understanding and caring this last week. I could not have made it through without knowing I had you to come home to.”

“Thank you for always coming home to me, love. If you need anything, you only have to ask. Shall we finish up here and go home?”

They kissed again, then Lorraine called for the check and settled it. The staff all waved goodbye as they left. The car was waiting to take them home. In the car, they embraced and kissed. Lorraine stroked Philippe’s face, pushing his hair back to gently kiss his forehead, his cheek and skim his lips. Philippe responded by running his hand through the hair at the back of Lorraine’s head and pushing Lorraine toward him for another intense kiss.

Afterwards, Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I want to rip your clothes off and take you right here, but I will refrain until we get home, so I can take my time.” Philippe’s tongue played with Lorraine’s earlobe before moving down to his neck. Lorraine put his head back exposing his neck to Philippe’s attentions. Philippe expertly used his tongue, his lips and his mouth on Lorraine’s neck to make him moan. Philippe moved his mouth back up to Lorraine’s and they kissed again.

They were kissing when the car pulled into the garage. Lorraine thanked his driver and dismissed him for the night telling him he would not need him until one Saturday afternoon. Once inside, Philippe kissed Lorraine while his hands were busy unbuttoning his shirt. He threw the shirt on the floor, then started unbuttoning Lorraine’s pants. Lorraine reciprocated, removing Philippe’s shirt. Soon they both were naked and embraced in a kiss. Philippe pushed Lorraine towards the bedroom as they kissed and groped each other. In the bedroom, Philippe pushed Lorraine against the wall, his hand moved down to wrap around Lorraine’s cock.  He stroked him until he had a good erection, then whispered in his ear, “Fuck me, please, love.”  He kissed Lorraine then went over to the nightstand for the oil and handed it to Lorraine.

Lorraine asked, “How do you want to do this, love?”

Philippe didn’t answer, but turned around, faced the wall and put out his hands to brace himself. Lorraine understood and came up behind him, moved his hair aside and kissed the back of his neck, all while pushing his body against Philippe’s. As he kissed and sucked on Philippe’s neck and back, his hands moved down to his buttocks. He poured oil onto his hand and rubbed the oil onto Philippe’s buttocks and worked their way in.  He stopped to put oil on his own erect cock, then moved to prepare Philippe. Philippe moaned. Finally, Lorraine guided himself into Philippe who moaned as Lorraine slowly worked his way inside. Lorraine wrapped his arms around Philippe as he slowly thrust in and out. He fought the urge to increase the speed and intensity and continued his slow deliberate movements until he gave in to his urgent needs. Both were grunting and moaning, and Philippe uttered, “Yes, love, yes!” as Lorraine, arms wrapped tightly around Philippe found his release and moaned loudly, followed by “Oh, god, Philippe!” Lorraine leaned on Philippe, putting his head on his back as he breathed heavily and fought to catch his breath.

Philippe managed to turn around and take Lorraine into his arms and held him. He whispered in his ear, “Love, I know you are tired from the week. Let’s go to bed now.”

Lorraine could feel Philippe’s erect cock poking him in the belly. “I have something I need to attend to first.” Lorraine pushed Philippe to the bed and sat him down on the edge then went to his knees. He brought Philippe to release and then they climbed in bed together.

Lorraine told Philippe, “Thank you for the wonderful evening. I needed to just relax with you. You have been so understanding all week. I appreciate that.” Lorraine kissed Philippe gently.

Philippe answered by putting his arms around Lorraine and hugging him. “Let’s get some sleep now, love. It’s late. And we’ve got tomorrow morning together.”

Lorraine didn’t have the strength to argue. Philippe spooned Lorraine, wrapping his arms protectively around him. They both were soon asleep.

And Lorraine dreamed ……….

He was on a battlefield. He could hear the sounds of battle all around him: the cries of dying men, the sound of steel on steel, the sound of steel tearing through flesh, the scream of dying horses, the thunder of canons firing. The smells were even worse. The iron smell of blood filled his nostrils and clung to the roof of his mouth. The stench of the entrails of gutted men made him nauseous. However, he was now used to all of this. This wasn’t his first time on the battlefield. Instinctively he knew he was at the battle at Lille. To his right he could see Monsieur Philippe hacking through the foot soldiers of the enemy. He looked so glorious on his horse. Lorraine felt a tightening in his crotch just looking at him and tore his eyes away, so he could concentrate on what was before him. Just maybe, if he fought valiantly enough today, he might be the one the Monsieur would choose to spend the night with in his tent tonight. The Chevalier pushed the thoughts from his mind as he swung his sword and mortally wounded the enemy soldier running towards him on foot. The man had seen his distraction and had moved to take advantage but had been too slow.

The Chevalier told himself not to look the dying man in the eye. To do so would be to look upon one’s own death. When in battle, the enemy had to be some mindless beast. To look at him as another human being could slow you just enough to cause your own demise. He spurred his horse onward to the next enemy mowing him down easily.

Then many things happened all at once. There was the bright light of the explosion that blinded him. Several men running before him were reduced to body parts horrendously flying through the air. The Chevalier heard the scream of his horse and felt himself falling as the horse reared. Then he could hear nothing, see nothing. But he felt the pain. He hit the ground and felt the sharp pain of the wind being knocked out of him. And still there was that pain. He had been hit. He had no idea where. Somewhere on his leg he thought but couldn’t be sure. His first instinct was to get to his feet. He had to defend himself. He crawled to his knees, still blind, still deaf. But when he tried to stand, he fell. His leg would not support him, and the pain wracked his body. He was helpless.

Then he felt hands on him. He struggled thinking it was enemy soldiers and knowing he could not be taken prisoner. That would be humiliation. He would rather die than be used as a pawn. He fought with all he had in him, but there were too many and he was growing weaker. His life force—his blood—was draining from him. He fell into unconsciousness.

He heard the voices, first as just a droning in his aching head. His whole body ached. At first, he wasn’t sure where he was. Slowly memories of the battlefield came to his memory. He remembered! He had been taken prisoner after his horse threw him. He must escape. But how? His first thought was to not let them know he was awake.  He had to figure out how many there were, where he was, then use surprise to make his escape. He lay very still. His hearing was coming back, and he heard someone say, “Is he still unconscious?” The voice seemed vaguely familiar. Then he heard, “For God’s sake DO something!”

“Your highness, we are doing the best we can. We have tended to his foot. He suffered from the concussion of that explosion and we don’t know yet the damage that has done to his head. Head wounds are difficult to assess, your highness!”

Then he knew the voice that responded with, “Get him awake or I will have you hanged for incompetence!” It was Monsieur Philippe! He had not been captured!

The Chevalier willed his eyes to open, but the brightness caused him pain. He tried to talk but his throat was so dry all he could get out was a dry rasp. He tried to raise his arm, but it would not respond—he was able to move his fingers and that was all.

But Monsieur saw the slight movement and heard the rasp. He was at his side in an instant. “Chevalier, love, can you hear me?”

 He tried to talk again and heard Monsieur shout, “Get him some water, quickly!” He felt fingers stroking his face. He heard Philippe’s soft voice saying, “You were injured and thrown from your horse. A cannonball exploded in front of you, and your foot was injured by flying shrapnel. The doctors say your foot will heal, but I am ensuring you get the best care possible. I have seen too many battle wounds fester and limbs and even lives lost as a result. This will not happen to you.”

He felt water being held to his lips and managed to take a few sips. It soothed his parched throat and he wanted more. “Not too much at once, love.”

Then it dawned on the Chevalier that, while Monsieur might use the endearment, “love” during lovemaking and in the privacy of his tent, he had never used it outside of it. Not for him or any of his other retinue of young men he kept around him.

Finally, the Chevalier could get a few words out, “I thought I had been captured and taken prisoner.”

He heard Monsieur laugh and say, “No wonder you fought us so hard when we tried to carry you off the battlefield! My dear, brave Chevalier. I have heard how bravely you fought! There might be those who would besmirch your bravery, but I knew it all along. You have proved yourself a true knight of France!”

“My eyes hurt. I cannot see well. Where am I?”

“In my tent, where else? I am seeing to your care personally. People have been coming all day saying how bravely you fought! I am so proud of you.” Then Chevalier felt it. The soft touch of Monsieur’s lips on his cheek.

“Rest love. I will dim the lights in here so maybe you can open your eyes in a bit. Take your time. There is no rush. The battle is won. We will be going home soon. I must go make a report, but I will be back very soon. If you need anything, just ask.”

The Chevalier heard Monsieur leave. He was stunned at the turn of events. Yes, he had suffered an injury to his foot that could turn severe if not treated properly. He was terrified at the possibility of losing his foot or even his leg. But the Monsieur was seeing to his treatment personally. He had never done that before for any of the young men in his retinue. The Chevalier wondered how long this would last and how it would end because surely it would have to end.

As the Chevalier lay there unable to do anything else, he thought back on the relationship he had with Monsieur Philippe. Because their mothers were friends and close confidants, they had known each other from an early age. Monsieur’s mother Anne d’Autriche was his godmother along with Cardinal Mazarin who had performed the Chevalier’s baptism.

But the Monsieur had not been his first lover. _[And this part is from my own mind—not historical.]_ Monsieur was not always accessible as his mother kept a tight reign on both her sons. The Chevalier remembered another boy he befriended when they were both thirteen and at that age of sexual awakening. Adam was the son of a lesser noble brought to court for training. The main thing he had going for him was that he was a beautiful young man. Dark hair and eyes framed by an exquisite face. Perhaps too beautiful for a boy. And that is what attracted the Chevalier to him.

The two of them used to sneak around spying on the adults. One day they found themselves peering into a room where two maids were changing. They enjoyed the view of bare breasts and then were both awed by the view of one woman’s round buttocks and the others hairy cunt. They watched until they feared being caught then silently stole away. They found a private place where they could discuss what they had seen.

Adam sighed. “I’ve seen breasts before although not ones quite that large. Sort of reminded me of a cow. Can’t say I am that impressed.”

The Chevalier responded, “Yes, sort of overkill if you ask me. Now that ass was something else. I‘ve heard that men fuck women in the ass when they don’t want a chance of them getting pregnant. I don’t know. I think I would rather prefer the ass to that thing called a cunt. That was awfully hairy. No telling what was under all that hair.”

Adam laughed and said, “How would you know what you would prefer? You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Neither do you!”

They laughed, but a few days later Adam asked the Chevalier if he’d like to go fishing with him. He answered with, “Me? Fishing? Are you crazy? No thanks.”

Adam then told him, “It’s not fishing like you think. It is an excuse for us to get away from prying eyes. I know this spot where we would have complete privacy. We can talk and do whatever we want. Maybe do a little role-playing. Trust me. You’ll like this.”

They snuck away, tying some string to a couple of long branches to say they were out fishing if they should come across anyone who’d ask. Adam led them to a stream which they followed for a way. The stream went into a rocky area and Adam showed the Chevalier this grotto that had a pool and moss-covered rocks they could lay on. It was all very private. They stripped and had fun jumping from the rocks into the pool and playing keep away and tag.

As they were lying on the rocks drying off, Adam asked, “Have you ever thought of role-playing?”

“What do you mean role-playing? What roles?”

“One of us could be the man and the other could be the woman. We could discover just what is so much fun about sex. Then we could switch.”

“But, neither of us has a cunt.”

“So? We pretend we don’t want to get the woman pregnant.”

“I bet you can’t even get an erection!” the Chevalier challenged.

“First one to get an erection gets to be the man!” They both started working on themselves to be the first one with an erection.

Adam won, but the Chevalier remarked, “Is that the best you can do?” and Adam’s little cock wilted. The Chevalier laughed and said, “Turn around, woman.” The Chevalier didn’t last long either.

“What are we doing wrong?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know. There is this thing they call foreplay—you know kissing and stuff. Maybe we need to do that.”

They looked at each other nervously. Finally, the Chevalier asked, “Are we going to do this or not?”  He didn’t wait for Adam to respond but leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. “Feel anything?”

“No.”

“Well, I’ve seen the kitchen maid making out with the gardener’s son. Let me show you more.”

The young Chevalier did his best to replicate what he had seen between the kitchen maid and the gardener’s son. He got on top of Adam and rubbed his body against his as he kissed him. He remembered them using their tongues and tried to replicate that, too. At first Adam resisted and tried to push the Chevalier off him. It seemed so ridiculous. But the Chevalier continued kissing him, then moved down to kiss his neck.

To both their surprises, Adam started responding. The Chevalier moved his mouth down to Adam’s nipples. They weren’t breasts but it was worth a try.  It was a good educated guess and had an amazing effect on both. They were now totally caught up in all the new sensations they were feeling. Without thinking of what he was doing, the young Chevalier had moved downward so he could take Adam’s cock in his hands. Then remembering something he had heard about, he bent down and took Adam’s cock in his mouth. It didn’t take but a stroke or two before Adam came. The Chevalier coughed and gagged. He had not been ready for that, but he pushed on. He told Adam to now do him. Adam was hesitant at first but did not want to be outdone by the Chevalier. He soon was gagging as the Chevalier came in his mouth. He gagged and threw up into the pool below them.

The young Chevalier pulled Adam down to lie beside him. “Not bad for our first time at sex.”

“I feel sorry for the poor woman having to swallow that stuff. Disgusting.”

“But it felt good from the other side, didn’t it?”

“Yes! Much better than when I jack myself off.”

The Chevalier said, “Guess I can see why adults are so addicted to sex. We didn’t even know what we were doing, and it was good.”

They made plans to come back and do more exploring and discovering. They always said they were role-playing and preparing themselves for sex with a woman. But after a while the young Chevalier realized it wasn’t the thought of having sex with a woman that was turning him on, but the idea of having sex with Adam. When he tried to envision boobs on Adam or that he was fucking a cunt instead of Adam’s ass, it just didn’t work as well. They did get much better at it, but unfortunately, one day, the Chevalier’s older sister secretly followed them, curious as to what they were up to. What she saw in the grotto horrified her and she quickly ran home to tell on them.

That was the last time he saw Adam. He was sent home in shame. The Lorraine family insisted that Adam had seduced the Chevalier and that he was just curious as young boys can be at that age. _[end of my fiction]_

The Chevalier remembered that he had been afraid to do any more exploring with a boy for quite a while. However, his friendship with the Monsieur grew and everyone knew about Monsieur’s effeminate ways. It had been encouraged by his mother to ensure the younger brother would not challenge the older one after he took over as king. The attraction between them grew. But then there was that disgusting incident with Philippe Jules Mancini, the nephew of Cardinal Mazarin. The Italian family had moved to France in the hopes of making good marriages for their five daughters aided by the influence of Mazarin. The rumor was that the Cardinal had commanded his nephew, Philippe Jules Mancini, to consummate a sexual relationship with the young Monsieur. The young Chevalier had watched as Philippe turned his attentions to the good-looking Mancini and ignored him. When Mancini dropped Philippe soon after their sexual encounter, the young Monsieur was devastated and humiliated.

The young Chevalier had tried to step up and console Philippe, but Philippe was only receptive to friendship and resisted any hint at a sexual relationship. The Chevalier remembered the night they had finally crossed from friends to lovers. He knew from that day forward his heart would belong to Monsieur Philippe. But it wasn’t easy because he would slip in and out as Philippe’s favorite. Encouraged by his mother, Philippe always had a retinue of young men to distract him from the Chevalier. There was a time when the Chevalier had thought he should leave and go find his way elsewhere. He had the means, the noble standing, and the intelligence to do well for himself. Instead, he chose to stay close to Philippe and endure the ebb and flow of their relationship.

Now, here he was, injured, being cared for in Philippe’s tent with Philippe’s total attention. He could not believe it.

Philippe returned a little later and asked, “Have you tried to open your eyes? It is getting dark out now and the tent is dark.”

The Chevalier opened his eyes to see an anxious Philippe looking down at him. The Chevalier said, “Don’t look so worried. I want to see your smile.” That brought a big smile to Philippe and made the Chevalier smile as well. Philippe kissed him softly on the lips.

“When I saw that explosion and you falling off your horse, I thought I had lost you and my heart stopped! Then I saw you trying to get up and galloped over to you calling for help. Knowing how overworked and poorly trained the field doctors can be, I had you brought to my tent and attended to by my own doctors.” Philippe took the Chevalier’s hand in his and kissed it. “The doctor said you should eat some soup, now, to get your strength back. Shall I have them bring some in for you?”

The Chevalier had said, “Yes,” and Philippe had the soup brought in and fed it to the Chevalier himself.

The doctor came in a little later to check the Chevalier and to change the dressing on his foot. He gave him a small dose of morphine to help him with the pain.

Philippe said, “You are in my bed. I can sleep on the floor, or, if you don’t mind, I can crawl in bed behind you. I will be very gentle and promise not to hurt you.”

The Chevalier answered, “We cannot have you sleeping on the floor of your own tent. Please, get in your own bed.”

Philippe took off his clothes as the Chevalier watched, then put on his nightgown. He crawled very carefully in behind the Chevalier and whispered in his ear, “Sorry, if I am a bit gamey. I haven’t had the luxury of a bath for a while.”

The Chevalier answered, “Neither have I. Not since that night you asked me to your tent and we took one together.”

“Oh, yes, that was you, wasn’t it?”

That wasn’t exactly what the Chevalier had wanted to hear, but he was feeling too good (or high) to let it bother him. He felt Philippe’s body heat against him and knew he was right where he wanted to be.

………. Lorraine woke up to Philippe’s mouth on his. They kissed softly. “I thought you were never going to wake up. It must have been a nice dream for you to prefer it to me kissing you!”

Lorraine smiled. “Yes, it was a good dream. I was dreaming of the battle at Lille when I was injured in the foot.”

Philippe looked alarmed, “How can you say that is a good dream! That was a nightmare! I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I know. But it was the first time you showed me how much you really cared for me.”

Philippe looked puzzled. “The first time? Surely not. I remember quite a few times we were together before that. And the many years we knew each other before that.”

“But, I was just one of your many young men. You might show me a little favor here and there, but you spent many nights with the others, too.”

“You are remembering through a cloud of your possessiveness.”

Lorraine was a little hurt at that. “Is it possessive to want to be your only love? To not want to have to share you with others? Or is it love? You do know I considered leaving court and going off to find my fortunes elsewhere, don’t you?”

“I do know it wasn’t always easy for you.”

“My family had the titles, the nobility. You know I was always good with money—except for those few times I let jealousy get the best of me and spent yours for revenge. Instead, I chose to be with you. To cling to my precarious position at court solely as your lover. To be exiled by your brother numerous times. Why? Because I saw the love you showed me at Lille. I always knew you were the one for me, but it wasn’t until then that I knew you also thought I was the one for you. That day solidified my belief in _us_.”

Philippe thought back for a few minutes. Then he sighed. “Again, you make me sad for the way I treated you back then. And, yes, that was a turning point for me. To see you fall, to think you could be dead, frightened me to my very core. If I had lost you back then, I think my heart would have broken and I would have died from grief. Just as I would do today if I lost you.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe, “Well, we aren’t dead or dying. We are happily married, and I believe you woke me up to do things to me, didn’t you?”

As Philippe kissed Lorraine, Lorraine sent a silent message to Adam from so long ago. “Yes, sex is very satisfying and rewarding. Thank you for helping me discover it!”

 


	54. Time Out For Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine is busy at work and has to work most of the weekend, but takes some time out for Philippe.

The next morning, they awoke to the telephone ringing. Philippe groggily reached for the phone and answered. He shook Lorraine and said, “It’s for you,” and handed him the phone.

Lorraine was still half asleep when he answered. “Lorraine here.” “Oh, hi, Leo. What is the problem?” “You’re kidding me. Didn’t we check that?” “Are they sure they are laying them out right?”  “No, no we can’t do it that way. It would double material costs. We would lose a big chunk of profit. Our margins are already too tight as it is.” “They want to what?! No! Tell them to stop immediately! I will be there as soon as I can. Don’t do ANYTHING until I get there!”

Lorraine handed the phone back to Philippe to hang up and rubbed his eyes. He looked at the clock. Seven-thirty in the morning. So much for sleeping in. He leaned over and kissed Philippe. “Sorry, love, I have to go in to work. Someone has messed up the master patterns. Thank god, Leo thought to check them before he used them. I have no idea how long it is going to take to figure out what went wrong and fix it. I really wanted to spend the morning with you. I’ll call you when I know more.”

“Go! Do what you need to do. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

Lorraine kissed him again. “Damn. Somebody’s head is going to roll when I find out who is responsible!”

Lorraine called for a car and got dressed quickly. He was too upset to eat anything, but he did go in and kiss Philippe again before he left. Philippe fell back asleep and was awakened later by a call from Lorraine telling him he probably wouldn’t be home until the afternoon sometime. A little later Philippe got up, dressed and was puttering around the house when the phone rang again. He thought it was Lorraine again, but was surprised to hear Fabien’s voice on the other end. Fabien invited Philippe and Lorraine to join him and Claudine at the pub for some beer, pool and darts that evening. Philippe explained about Lorraine having to go into work and Fabien told him if, for some reason, Lorraine couldn’t make it, Philippe was welcome to come alone.

When Lorraine called in the afternoon, Philippe told him about the invite from Fabien and Claudine. Lorraine answered, “Love, I am so sorry, but I have no idea when I will be home. It could be late. Go and enjoy yourself with Fabien and Claudine. I’ll join you if I can.” Philippe thought that Lorraine sounded tired and depressed. Things must not be going well at work.

Lorraine didn’t make an appearance, so Philippe went alone to the pub. Philippe tried to have fun, but he was worried about Lorraine. Philippe didn’t like to see Lorraine so stressed. Because he was worried, Philippe drank more than he planned to and was good and drunk by the time he got in the car to be driven home. He came home to an empty and dark house. He decided to open a bottle of wine and wait for Lorraine to come home. At some point, he thought it would be fun to take off all his clothes and greet Lorraine at the door naked with a glass of wine. He got undressed, sat on the couch and waited for the sound of the car in the garage. He never heard it because he passed out on the couch.

Lorraine came home after midnight, exhausted and drained. He was a little surprised that Philippe wasn’t at the door waiting for him with a glass of wine. He turned on the light in the kitchen and saw Philippe, passed out naked on the couch with an empty bottle of wine and two glasses on the coffee table. He felt guilty for not going with Philippe to the pub. He felt even guiltier at the thought of Philippe waiting, naked and anticipating a night of love-making, and getting drunk alone. He smiled at the thought of Philippe greeting him naked at the door. But now he was going to have to wrestle a drunk Philippe to bed when it was all he could do to drag himself to bed. There wasn’t even any wine left for him to drink to unwind. He was too tired to open a new bottle and went over to try and rouse Philippe.

He bent to kiss him lightly, but that had no effect. He gently shook Philippe saying, “Love, it is time to go to bed.” He shook him a little harder and finally his eyes opened.

Philippe grinned and slurred, “Yurrr home,” then reached out and pulled Lorraine to him to give him a wet, sloppy kiss. “Can have sex now.” Philippe tried to pull him down onto the couch, but Lorraine resisted.

“Love, you are not in any shape to have sex and I am way too tired. We need to go to bed, now. And sleep. It’s been a long, hard day for me.”

“Hard? You can fuck me then.”

“No, love, I’m not hard. I am exhausted. I need sleep. And you need to sleep this off. You are going to feel really bad in the morning.”

“Yeah, I can be bad. Give me a kiss. I show you bad.” Philippe again tried to pull Lorraine down. Instead, Lorraine pulled Philippe to his feet and put his arm around him to support him.

Philippe stumbled into the bedroom with Lorraine’s help. Lorraine helped him sit on the bed. “I’m going to the bathroom to wash my face, love. I’ll be right back.”

By the time Lorraine got back to the bedroom, Philippe was passed out again across the bed. Lorraine pushed him all the way on to the bed then tried to pull him to where his head was on the pillow. He took off his own clothes and climbed into bed and lay next to Philippe. He kissed Philippe gently then turned off the light. He was asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Lorraine was up at eight-thirty and got dressed. Philippe was still asleep, snoring. Lorraine got a sports drink and some pain killers and sat on the edge of the bed to wake Philippe.

“Love, I need you to wake up for a bit.” Lorraine shook Philippe gently until he started to respond.

“Oh, you’re home. Think I drank too much waiting for you. Sorry.”                                                   

“It is  okay. You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry I was so late getting home. And I am sorry to tell you I need to go back to work. I just wanted to get you to drink this and take some medication to help your hang over.”

“Sorry, I can’t remember much. Did we have sex?”

“No, love. I was too exhausted, and you were passed out naked. I thought it was sweet of you to think of greeting me at the door naked. Sorry, it didn’t work out for us. But I will be back later this afternoon and we will have time together, then. I promise.”

Philippe sat up and clutched at his head. “Ohhh. I never learn, do I? Fabien tried to tell me I was drinking too fast, but I didn’t listen.”

“Here drink this and swallow these. They will help. You can lay back down and go back to sleep for a while. You should feel better then.”

“Thank you. You take such good care of me.” Philippe took the bottle and used the contents to wash the pills down. He groaned and laid his head back down. Lorraine kissed him gently and said goodbye.

He hated that he had to go in to work on a Sunday, but he wanted to check the newly made pattern masters before they were put to use. If the masters were good, then they would be back on schedule.

It was just before noon when Lorraine made it home. The pattern masters were good and things at work were back on track. He was not surprised that Philippe was still in bed. He went into the bedroom and leaned over to kiss Philippe gently.

Philippe smiled and opened his eyes. “I was just laying here thinking I needed to get up.”

“Yes, you were, love. Feel like taking a shower?”

“With you? Of course, I do.” Philippe started to jump up and thought better of it. “Head still hurts. I’ll need to take it slow.”

Lorraine unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. “Take all the time you want, love. The shower will help with that headache.” Lorraine undid the button on his pants, but Philippe sat up and reached over to unzip his pants.

“Let me help with that,” Philippe told Lorraine as he stood up and pushed Lorraine’s pants down. Lorraine stepped out of them and they embraced. “I missed you last night.”

“Yes, and I missed you. I tried so hard to get home in time, but it just didn’t work out.”

“Well, you are home now.” Philippe pushed Lorraine towards the bathroom. In the bathroom, Philippe took the time to brush his teeth saying he needed to wash away the taste of stale wine. Lorraine said he had coffee breath and brushed, too.

Afterwards they kissed. Philippe murmured, “Minty fresh. Now, I need to wash away the stale wine seeping from my pores.” The water running over his body revived him as it also did Lorraine.

They slowly soaped each other and washed away the sweat, the grime and the exhaustion of the last few days. Lorraine kissed Philippe softly. “Thank you for being there at the end of every day, waiting for me with a glass of wine and indulging me, listening to me gripe about the day.”

“But that was just a pretense to get you in bed, love.”

“Yes, and that was the best part of all.” Lorraine kissed Philippe passionately, biting his bottom lip playfully, teasing with his tongue, pouring his desire into him. Their hands roamed and groped as the sexual tension built up between them. Philippe pushed Lorraine against the shower wall and kissed him deeply, then moved his lips down to Lorraine’s throat while his hands groped and kneaded their way down to Lorraine’s belly. He pressed his groin against Lorraine’s.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Are you ready, love?” But Lorraine could only moan as Philippe’s hand clasped his cock. Philippe slowly kneeled, caressing Lorraine’s body on the way down. He used his tongue to tease the head of Lorraine’s cock before he took it into his mouth. Lorraine moaned and threw his head back as Philippe’s mouth continued to arouse him. All the tension of the past week drained out of him as he came to a climax and cried out in pleasure. Philippe ran his hands over Lorraine’s body as he stood up and kissed him.

Philippe turned off the water and they both stepped out of the shower. Philippe lovingly and gently dried off Lorraine’s wet body taking the time to kiss and caress him as he did so. Then it was Lorraine’s turn to dry off Philippe, which he did slowly and gently, kissing and stroking Philippe’s skin with his hands as he went. When Philippe was dry, Lorraine put his arms around him and pushed him towards the bedroom.

“Now, lay on the bed love—put your head on the pillow. Yes, that’s it.” Lorraine crawled onto the bed from the end and moved on his knees between Philippe’s legs, which he gently pushed apart as he moved in closer. He leaned over Philippe holding himself up with his hands as he gently kissed Philippe, then intensified the kiss with his tongue. He could feel Philippe moving and responding underneath him and slowly made his way downward with his lips. Philippe pushed himself against Lorraine longing for what he knew was coming. Lorraine kissed and teased Philippe’s belly while running his hands along the line of hair that grew down the center along his belly and on to the patch of hair around his cock.

Philippe moaned when Lorraine’s tongue contacted his cock. Lorraine teased and licked driving Philippe crazy. “Please, love, please.” When Lorraine took Philippe’s cock into his mouth, Philippe moaned and said, “Yes, yes.” But Lorraine worked slowly before finally giving Philippe the release he begged for. 

Lorraine crawled back on top of Philippe, gently kissed him and ran his finger slowly down his cheek. They lay there for a while just enjoying the feel of each other. They finally decided to get up to eat something. They sat at the table, still naked, and ate some reheated leftovers.

Lorraine told Philipp, “I hate it, but until we get our three new clients taken care of, I am going to be busy like last week. But once, I get them settled, we can take some time for each other—maybe take a four-day weekend and go somewhere. Be thinking of where you might want to go, love.”

“I will be here for you to come home to, love. What about the Greek wedding present-opening party? Do I need to postpone that?”

“No, we can work out a day and time for it and I will work my schedule around it. We need to get those presents opened and all our generous friends thanked.”

“What about Greek dance lessons? Will you have time for those? We can’t have the party until we can do the dance.”

“Oh, I had not thought of that. Is it possible to have the present opening party without the Greek theme? We could have a Greek party after things have settled down.” The minute Lorraine said that, he saw Philippe’s smile fade and knew from Philippe’s demeanor that he was very disappointed. “How many of those lessons will we need to take? Could we maybe learn on a weekend afternoon?”

Hope back in his demeanor, Philippe responded, “We don’t have to do the full dance. We could just learn the easiest steps. I’ll check and see how many lessons that would take.”

“Have the costumes come yet?”

“Yes, they arrived Thursday.”

“How about we try them on after we eat? Just to be sure they fit.”

That made Philippe smile. After they ate, Philippe got out the box containing the costumes. Philippe told Lorraine, “Here, this one is for you.” They put on the shirts and the skirts, then struggled with the tights.

Philippe complained, “I forgot how much I hate tights!” They got into them and added the vests and sash and the shoes. Lorraine did a few twirls making the skirt stand out like a ballerina’s tutu. Philippe wasn’t as good at twirling as Lorraine and almost fell over. Lorraine tried to show him how to twirl and keep his focus on one point, whipping his head around as he twirled. Philippe gave it his best shot, but with his hang over gave up before he made himself sick. In jest, he reached under Lorraine’s skirt and grabbed his “package,” saying, “Not bad, but I think the Greek dancers we saw had bigger packages.”

Lorraine sniffed and said, “It is not the size that counts but what one can do with it!”

“And that is why I prefer yours to theirs, love. Now take off those tights and twirl for me. Show me what you’ve got!”

Lorraine grumbled as he removed the tights wondering why Philippe had insisted they put them on if they were just going to take them off right away. Once the tights were off, Lorraine smiled slyly and twirled quickly.

“Wait! That was too fast. Do it again. Slower!”

Lorraine twirled again as slowly as he could but still enough for the skirt to stand out. “Did you like what you saw?” he asked as he looked at Philippe seductively, then he twirled again.

Philippe smiled and said, “Yes, I like what I see, very much.” Philippe moved to sit on the couch. “Love, come over here for me.”

Lorraine walked over dramatically taking a step then sliding the other foot up as if he was doing a dance. As he reached Philippe he twirled with a flourish of his arms and hands. Philippe grabbed him by the hips then slid his hands down to the bottom of the skirt. He worked his hands slowly back up under the skirt lifting it as he went.

He told Lorraine, “I think I would like you to fuck me with that skirt on.” He stood up and kissed Lorraine, removing his vest as he did. Next, he removed Lorraine’s shirt leaving only the skirt on him. “Yes, I like this. Let’s go to the bedroom.” He kissed Lorraine pushing him to the bedroom and then sitting him on the edge of the bed. Philippe kneeled, pushed the skirt up and took Lorraine’s cock in his hands. He used his mouth to give Lorraine an erection, then stood up and fought to remove his tights. Lorraine helped him remove the tights and then removed Philippe’s shirt. Lorraine pushed  Philippe onto the bed and got the oil. Philippe got on the bed then got on all fours.

Lorraine climbed up with the oil and pushed Philippe’s skirt up, so he could begin oiling his buttocks, moving to his crack. He gently inserted an oiled finger. His only worry was getting oil onto the skirts of their costumes. He hoped any oil spots would wash out. He turned his complete attention to Philippe’s slim ass and soon had him ready to penetrate with his cock. Philippe moaned as Lorraine’s cock entered him. Lorraine wasn’t all that keen on the skirts because they were just in the way. He had pushed Philippe’s skirt onto his back, but his own skirt kept getting in the way. He decided to stop and unbutton the waist on his skirt and pull it off over his head.

“Sorry, love, but the skirt was in the way.” Then he began his slow thrusting as Philippe moaned. When he could take it no more, he gave in and began thrusting in earnest. Both he and Philippe grunted as Lorraine came closer to release. Finally, the nerves fired all at once and he released his seed into Philippe as he cried out in extreme pleasure. Spent, he collapsed onto Philippe and kissed his back. He then withdrew his limp cock and laid on his back on the bed. Philippe laid down beside him.

“So, you didn’t like the skirt?”

“It just got in the way. But I am not the one who likes to wear dresses, love. Maybe if we had mirrors on the walls or ceiling it might have had a different effect on me.”

“Yes, I couldn’t see anything either. We’ll have to think about getting those mirrors.”

“It doesn’t really matter. It was heaven making love to you, dear, skirt or no skirt. You don’t know how many times at work this last week, I thought of doing this to you. Now, give me a moment to recuperate, and I will let you do to me the other thing I have dreamed of you doing to me this week.”

Philippe reached over and stroked Lorraine’s face. “I can just imagine you sitting in some boring meeting and thinking of this and smiling. Do you get a hard on when you think of me?”

“Yes, sometimes at the most inopportune times, love.”

Philippe smiled and said, “Maybe I should come to your work during the day and service you during your breaks.”

“Love, I don’t get breaks. I am the boss. There is no time, especially last week.”

“Maybe you should make time.”

“Love, the last time I had sex at work it didn’t work out too well for me. I think I’d prefer to keep work and sex separate—other than me thinking about you and sex.”

“Still, you might consider it.”

Lorraine laughed and rolled over towards Philippe. “Well, I think I am ready again. Are you ready to fuck me, now?” Lorraine didn’t wait for Philippe to respond before he kissed Philippe as his hands went down to his cock. His mouth soon followed, and he soon had Philippe erect and ready. He went back up and kissed Philippe again.

“How do you want me, love? On all fours?”

“No, let’s put pillows under your hips.”

Philippe rolled over onto Lorraine and pushed his body against him while they kissed. Philippe went to his knees and took several pillows to place under Lorraine’s hips to elevate him. He grabbed the oil and worked it in, making Lorraine moan as he inserted his oiled finger. In no time, Philippe was ready to insert his cock. Lorraine gasped and moaned as he was entered.

“You okay, love?” Philippe asked.

“Yes, I’m very ready for you, love.”

Philippe used his hands to elevate Lorraine’s hip further as he went all the way in slowly. Before long, Philippe was grunting and moaning as he felt his nerves responding. Finally, the nerves all let go at once and he felt the ecstasy wash over him as he cried out and shot his seed into Lorraine. Exhausted, he lowered himself onto Lorraine and kissed him.

They laid in bed a good while, enjoying their closeness, caressing and stroking each other lovingly. Lorraine told Philippe, “The wait was worth it, love. Now I have something to look forward to this next week. It’s going to be another difficult one, but with you by my side, I will make it through.”

 


	55. A New Partner and Greek Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine is again swamped at work, but considers taking on a new partner. Philippe prepares for the Greek wedding-present-party. He and the Chevalier celebrate with the newly arrived Greek wine.

Monday was hell for Lorraine. He had been up early and hated that he had to leave the peacefully sleeping Philippe with just a soft kiss. Their mornings were usually much more stimulating and satisfying than that, but there was no time. The minute he had walked into work, he was surrounded by people demanding his attention.

The good news was that the patterns were ready. He had been told the problem they had encountered was caused by a new-hire who should never have been in the position. Only advanced people usually worked on creating the masters. Lorraine could not blame the new-hire, but he intended to find out why someone so poorly trained was put in a position that required extensive training. To do that, he had to talk to the head of personnel who had not been available over the weekend. Therefore, he ignored all the people surrounding him and went directly to personnel. He went into the Director’s office and closed the door. He saw the look of fear in the Director’s eyes. Good.

“Carter, I suppose you have heard about the mess we had over the weekend with the pattern masters?”

“Uh, yes, everyone was talking about it. Exactly what happened?”

“The new-hire, Jackson, was put on the master-making team. I want to know why. Pull his file so I can see if he had previous experience that would qualify him for the position. I also want to know which supervisor authorized his being on the team this weekend.”

“Yes, sir. It will take a bit to get the file and find out who the supervisor was.”

“I will wait.”

“Would you like some coffee while you wait?”

“No, I want answers, now.”

Carter scurried out and Lorraine could hear him barking commands to his underlings. As Lorraine sat there, he went over in his mind the next things he had to do once he had this information. It took about seven minutes for Carter to return with the file.

“Here is the file, sir. I see nothing in here of Jackson having any experience with pattern making at all. But you can see for yourself.” Carter handed Lorraine the file. Lorraine read through it carefully.

“And his supervisor?”

“That would be Smithson, sir. Umm. I know he was not happy that he had to work the weekend. Seems like he had some barbecue party on Saturday he wanted to attend. He came to me to ask for the weekend off, but he was the only one who had not worked a weekend and it was only fair that he do his weekend.”

“What would be your assessment as to why he decided to have Jackson work?”

“That he didn’t take the time to check Jackson’s qualifications. He just pulled the names and didn’t check.”

“Find out who was next in line under him and call him in here to talk to us. And you can get that coffee for me, too.”

Lorraine got his coffee right away. It was another ten minutes before the person under Smithson was brought into the office. It was a woman, Jana Nichol, who had worked under Smithson and reluctantly informed Lorraine that Smithson had only showed up for thirty minutes before he left. He had approved the masters and started the process to make the patterns. When pressed, she admitted that it was probably not long enough to thoroughly check out the masters. But once Smithson had approved the patterns, she had no option but to continue the process.

Lorraine thanked her for her honesty and dismissed her.  He addressed Carter, “So, it appears Smithson purposefully shirked his duties and caused this mess. What would be your recommendation?”

Carter thought for a few moments before saying, “He used extremely poor judgement.”

“Yes, and he knew he was breaking the rules when he left. This wasn’t just some accident. He did this on purpose without regard to what would happen.”

Carter knew what Lorraine was driving at but was reluctant to be the one to say it. “Smithson should no longer be a supervisor.”

“Smithson should no longer work for this company. Fire him. If we demote him, he will just be angry and cause trouble down the road. We don’t need employees like him. We do have justifiable cause, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do. Legal will back us on this.”

“Call him in here. I want to do this myself.”

When Smithson entered the office and saw Lorraine sitting there, he blanched. He knew what was going to happen.

Lorraine asked, “Was your barbecue party worth it?”

“Worth what, sir?”

“Your job.”

Smithson looked like he was going to try and argue his way out of it, but then thought better of it. “No, sir.”

“You are fired. Do you need to hear the reasons?”

“No, sir. I know what I did. I am sorry to have let you down.”

“An escort will take you to your desk to get your personal things. Fill out and turn in your time card. We will send your final check via messenger to you as soon as payroll can get it processed. You are lucky I am not deducting the expenses you caused by your poor management this weekend.”

Lorraine got up and left. Now they would be short a supervisor until one could be chosen and properly trained. Lorraine sighed and thought of Philippe’s face peacefully sleeping as he had left him that morning. How he had wanted to climb back in bed with him and wake him with a fiery kiss. He pushed the thought out of his mind and moved on to check on the patterns. Once he was sure that was proceeding without problem, he went to his office and put his energy into the next set of designs. At noon he stopped to ask his assistant to get him a sandwich from a local shop. Then he called Philippe at home.

A groggy Philippe answered, “Hello?”

“Aren’t you up sleepy head?”

“I was up earlier but laid back down. Didn’t hear you leave this morning.”

“No, you were sleeping peacefully. I gave you a kiss, but you didn’t respond.”

“Come home and kiss me now, love. I’ll show you a good response!”

“You don’t know how I wish I could. Had to fire a guy this morning. The one who caused the mess this weekend. Seemed he was more interested in going to a barbecue than doing his job.”

“I know how you hate to do that, love.”

“It’s all part of the job. But I didn’t call to complain to you. I’ll do that when I get home tonight. I wanted to see if there was any way you could set up Greek dancing lessons tomorrow afternoon for us? I have decided to take off a little early—at four. I’d like us to have our Greek wedding present opening party soon—like maybe this weekend? Sunday would be best for me. Is that too early or too short of notice?”

Philippe answered, “No, I’ve been wanting for us to do this! Let me call the instructor, the bands, and the caterers to see if I can get them lined up, then I’ll personally call each of our friends to invite them as soon as we have a day and time set. I’ll call you back as soon as I can to let you know.”

“I may be busy—if you can’t get through, leave me a message. I will get back to you as soon as I can. And Philippe, I love you.”

“I love you, too, my Chevalier.”

Lorraine felt much better after the call and went back to his designing. Philippe called a little later to say he had everything lined up for a Sunday party. Lorraine called Leo in to tell him that he was taking off early on Tuesday and Leo said he had him covered.

Later that day Carter showed back up in his office. Carter had a possible replacement for Smithson.

“Well, who is it? Anyone I am aware of?”

“Jana Nichols.”

“Oh. Hmm. I am a little concerned.”

“She has an impeccable record, sir.”

“Was she aware of the flaws in the masters?”

“No, I don’t believe so. She would have spoken up. She has done so before when she saw something wasn’t right.”

“But she didn’t speak up right away when Smithson left early.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“So how is not speaking up when Smithson took off early different than speaking up when you see something wrong with equipment or a design?”

“Telling on Smithson leaving early could be construed as tattling. She didn’t know there was a problem with the masters. She likes to see a job done well but does not like to be seen as one who tattles on co-workers. There is that distinction, sir.”

“I see. Leave her file with me, then. I will consider it.”

“Sir, may I say something?”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Nichols has been overlooked quite a few times. Each time, a male was given the promotion. I think she has been done a disservice. She is a conscientious, hard worker. She was much more qualified for that supervisor position, but it went to Smithson, instead.”

“I will keep that in mind as I study her file. Now leave me. I will call you when I have made my decision.”

Lorraine went over the file and saw that time and time again, Nichols had been up for promotion and had lost out to a less qualified man. Normally, he didn’t get involved with personnel matters, but because the mess up this weekend had affected him, he was now involved. And he didn’t like the blatant sexism he saw. There was no question Nichols was more than qualified for the position.  He called Carter back in.

“Yes, she has the position. But I saw something I didn’t like in her file.”

“What is that, sir? Is there something she lacks?”

“No. She should have had the position instead of Smithson. The fact that this very hard-working, conscientious and qualified female has been overlooked and that less qualified males were given the job instead, makes me angry. I see blatant sexism at work in my company and I don’t like it.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“No, I don’t think you do. I am wondering what other kinds of discrimination is occurring. I want you to do some research and come up with a company who can survey our policies and practices for discrimination. I want our entire staff re-educated. I want my company to be at the fore-front of anti-discrimination policies. Also, Nichols should be bumped up at least two salary slots and re-evaluated at the end of six months for a third bump. Please bring her in to talk to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Lorraine went over what he was going to say to Nichols. How do you apologize for years of discrimination? The fact that she still worked hard and applied herself was amazing. Most people would have given up or just left. His thoughts were interrupted when his secretary brought Nichols into the office. Nichols looked nervous and scared.

“Please sit down. I have your file here and I am not happy with what I see.”

Nichols looked very upset as she answered, “I am sorry for not speaking up about Smithson’s taking off. I don’t like ratting on fellow employees and didn’t realize he had messed up so much.”

“No, that is not it. What I am seeing in your file is years of discrimination.  Years of you being passed over for a less qualified man. This is not what I want in the company I have built with my own hands. I know what it is liked to be discriminated against. I am ashamed to see that discrimination exists in _my_ company.”

“Sometimes, sir, that is the way it is, and you just have to accept it.”

“I cannot change the past, but I can do what is right today.  I am promoting you to the position of shift supervisor with two bumps in pay. In six months, your work will be evaluated, and you will be considered for a third bump in salary.”

Nichols looked totally shocked, “Sir! That is more than fair! Thank you. I will do a good job. You will not be disappointed in me.”

“That is not all. We are going to be evaluating the entire company policies and practices for discrimination. I would like to appoint you as the lead of the new Employee Discriminatory Grievance Team. As such, you will collect grievances from our employees who feel they have been the victims of discrimination and present them to me. You can appoint whoever you want to be on your team. You, the team, and I will work on steps to address these problems. You and the team will be allowed ten hours each week to work on these problems. Hopefully that will be adequate time and will not interfere with your other work. We will have to see how that works out as we go. Are you interested?”

“Yes, sir! I would love to tackle this problem with you. It is an honor, sir.”

“No, it is an honor to me to have an employee like you. Also, I know in the past you have seen ways to improve our processes but weren’t always taken seriously. If you see anything in our processes that you think can be improved upon, please let me know and I will have them checked into. When my company was small, I had a good handle on what was going on within it. Now that it has grown so large, I depend upon employees like you to be my eyes and ears. Do you have any questions?”

“No. sir. I am overwhelmed by these great new changes! I think it is going to be a great morale booster.”

“Probably not for those who have been the source of the discrimination. If you have no more questions, then talk to personnel about the specifics of your taking over as supervisor.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

When she left, Lorraine turned back to his designs. He had another set of designs ready by the end of the day. He smiled in his car on the way home, knowing Philippe would be there to meet him at the door with a glass of wine. The question was, would Philippe be dressed or not?

When he opened the door to the house, he had to work very hard not to laugh. There was Philippe, wine glass in hand, dressed in the white tights and the shirt from the Greek costume and nothing else. Philippe was grinning from ear to ear.

“Hello, love, how was your day?”

“It was pretty crappy until just now. I can’t take my eyes off those tights.”

“Come sit on the couch, drink this wine and tell me about your day.”

Lorraine filled Philippe in on his discovery of the sexism and discrimination in his company and the steps he was taking to change it. As he talked, though, he couldn’t help but stare at the tights and a certain bulge in them.

“It sounds like you have everything well handled, then.”

“Yes, but it was very disturbing to realize this has been going on under my nose. And, now, not only do we have the new customers to worry about, now we have this problem of rooting out this discrimination. Things just keep piling up.”

Philippe’s answer was a soft kiss. “Drink some wine, love. Let it all wash over you.” They both took a long drink of their wine.

“I’m feeling better already. I just have one question. Why the tights and shirt?”

“Well, you said the skirt just got in the way.”

“Yes, but, those tights—and that bulge.”

“You like my bulge?”

Lorraine’s answer was to throw himself on Philippe, kissing him hungrily. “You don’t know how bad I need you right now, love.”

“And I need you. It is not easy sitting here at home alone all day surrounded by things that remind me of you.”

Lorraine had pushed Philippe down on the couch and was on top of him, kissing him, kissing his neck, grinding his body against his. He could feel Philippe’s hands unbuttoning his shirt, felt Philippe pull his shirt off. His own hands were pulling the Greek shirt over Philippe’s head, throwing it onto the floor. His hands found the bulge covered by the tights. That was a unique feeling, the feel of soft stretchy knit over Philippe’s hardening cock. It had been a long time since they had worn leggings at Versailles. But these were stretchy-er and thinner, the fabric softer.

Philippe moaned, “Stop fondling me and pull the tights down. My bulge is being painfully squashed.”

Lorraine complied as Philippe sighed in relief. Philippe was now unbuttoning Lorraine’s pants, unzipped them and pulled them off with Lorraine’s assistance. Lorraine returned the favor by struggling to pull Philippe’s tights down. Tights were much harder to remove than pants were, but he finally got them off. Now he could feel the heat of Philippe’s skin against his. All thought of work was gone from his mind now. All he knew was the feel of Philippe under his body, the feel of Philippe’s soft lips on his, the feel of Philippe’s soft, white neck as he sucked and kissed it, the feel of Philippe’s silky dark hair as he ran his fingers through it, the feel of the coarser, curlier hair around his cock. And finally, the feel of Philippe’s cock in his mouth. Philippe moaned and squirmed as Lorraine’s mouth worked its way up and down the shaft of Philippe’s cock. Lorraine tasted the salty dribble that foreshadowed Philippe’s climax and prepared himself. Philippe moaned and cried out, “Oh goddd,” as he climaxed.

Lorraine slid up and put his head on Philippe’s chest listening to the fast beating of his heart and feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and sighed. “I really missed not seeing you this morning, love.”

“You were sleeping so peacefully, and it seemed like a shame to wake you when I didn’t have time to do anything but kiss you goodbye. And I did kiss you. You just didn’t wake.”

“I look forward to the dance lessons with you tomorrow afternoon. Are you sure you are going to be able to make it on time?”

“Yes, Leo said he would cover for me.”

“You know, Leo is a really good person. He really takes care of you at work.”

“Yes, he does. He did a very good job while we were in Greece.”

“Too bad he can’t help you carry some of this burden.”

“He already goes far beyond the scope of his position.”

“Maybe he needs a new position. One with more authority.”

“Hmm. Maybe he does.”

Lorraine’s thoughts were torn away from work again as Philippe pulled him up to kiss him, long and hard. Philippe pushed him and rolled over on top of him. He whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I’ve wanted to do this to you all day,” then licked his ear and moved his mouth to his neck.  His hands were kneading Lorraine’s chest, his fingers tweaking his nipples, while he pressed his body against Lorraine’s. His mouth moved down to suck the indention above the center of Lorraine’s clavicle. He ran his hands lightly down each of Lorraine’s arms causing goosebumps to rise on Lorraine. Lorraine pushed his hips against Philippe, responding to his touch. Philippe’s mouth moved to his belly, his tongue making circles on his skin. His hands now cupped Lorraine’s waist just above his hips. Then he moved his thumbs to push against Lorraine’s belly and moved his hands downward. His thumbs now played with the hair above Lorraine’s cock. Philippe teased and played with Lorraine, then finally moved his hands down to wrap around his Lorraine’s cock. A few strokes brought the cock to a full erection. Philippe’s mouth made Lorraine moan. Philippe licked and teased the head of the cock as Lorraine writhed and moaned.

Lorraine begged, “Please, Philippe. Oh god, please.”

Philippe quipped, “Since you asked so nicely…” and took Lorraine’s cock fully into his mouth and began the process of bringing Lorraine to a climax. Lorraine’s only thoughts were on the sensations he was feeling. He let himself fall into the sensations totally and felt the wave of ecstasy wash over him. This is what he had waited for all day. He cried out and wrapped his fingers in Philippe’s silky hair as his cock pulsed and squeezed out the last of his juices. Philippe gently took Lorraine’s hands in his and pushed himself up to face Lorraine.

“You look so much more relaxed now, love,” Philippe half-whispered.

Lorraine answered, “You have no idea, love, of the burden you just took off me. There is nothing like coming home to you waiting for me at the door with a glass of wine—and those tights and that shirt were a nice touch, today. I needed something special tonight and you gave it to me.”

“Glad to be of service to you, love.”

“I don’t remember my work being so damned hard before. I don’t know what has happened to me, but I almost hate going to work, now. I never did before.”

“Maybe you are just burned out from it, love. As you said, the company has gotten so large. It is hard for one person to manage it all alone.”

“Yes, you are right. I’ve never had to take on designing for three new customers all at one time.”

“Have you thought of getting a partner?”

“Partner? You are interested in joining me?”

“No, not me. I’m not good at fashion at all—and not a businessman. Leo would make a good partner. You have taught him well and he has learned well.”

“But to become a true partner, he would have to invest in the company.”

“Have you not paid him well enough to have saved up some money?”

“I don’t even know if he is interested.”

“Do you think he is going to want to be your second in command forever? The way I see it, you have two choices. Offer him some sort of path to partnership or watch him set out on his own. It will happen one day—maybe sooner than you think.”

“You may be right. I have not even considered these possibilities. I will talk to legal about this tomorrow. Now I think I want some supper and some wine. And you to talk to, love.”

They ate some supper, sat on the couch and drank wine, talking and cuddling. They went to take a shower. They dried each other off and climbed into bed. They spent quiet time, stroking each other, kissing softly, and just enjoying each other’s presence until they fell asleep.

The next morning, Lorraine was again up early, but this time when he kissed Philippe, he did so with more intensity. Philippe opened his eyes and smiled.

“Just wanted to say goodbye to you this morning, love. And give you a kiss.”

Philippe responded by grabbing Lorraine’s head and pulling him down to kiss him, long and hard. “Keep that in mind all day, love. See you at four.”

Lorraine wanted nothing more than to crawl back in bed with Philippe, but he forced himself to leave. Yes, he would think about that kiss all day.

When he got in to work, the first thing he did was go to legal to talk about partnership possibilities. They gave him several options to think about.

Then he went to his office and called Leo in.

Leo came in and sat down. “Is there something wrong, sir?”

Lorraine answered, “No. I just needed to talk to you about something. What do you see for your future here at House of Lorraine?”

Leo squirmed a little in his chair. “I am not sure what you mean, sir.”

“Have you thought about being more than just my assistant?”

“Well, of course, I have ambitions, but you have been very good to me, sir.”

“Lately, I have realized that the company has grown a lot. It is getting difficult for me to manage this alone. I am thinking about taking on a partner. You would be my first choice.”

Lorraine smiled when he saw the excitement in Leo’s eyes. “A partner, sir? How would that work. I have saved up some money but probably not near enough to buy out half of this business.”

“Legal has been working on some possibilities. There may be a way to make you a junior partner with a moderate investment. Then you could work your way up to full partner from there. I really am looking for someone to take over day to day operations, so I can concentrate on designing, handling current customers and getting new customers.”

“Well, sir, I have 50,000 saved and I just paid off my house, so I could get another mortgage on it for another 100,000.”

“You paid off your mortgage? How did you do that? Didn’t you just buy it like five years ago?”

“Yes. My wife and I are very frugal, sir. We keep our expenses down and you do pay me very well, sir.”

“Well, go talk to legal and check out the options they have, then talk to your bank or whatever. I am willing to work with you to get this done. That is, if you are interested in taking over the day to day operations. You will need an assistant for that, too, so think on who might fill that position for you.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Lorraine! I am very excited about the possibilities!”

“There are some personnel issues we will be addressing, but I will fill you in on those later. Maybe we can develop a plan of action together.”

Leo left, and Lorraine smiled. This could possibly be a very good thing. Lorraine went to work on more designs. He had his secretary get him another sandwich for lunch and worked until it was time for him to leave at four. He wondered if Philippe would meet him at the door with a glass of wine. Certainly, he wouldn’t be naked and would be wearing more than tights with that shirt.

Philippe did greet him at the door with a glass of wine. He was also wearing the full Greek dancer costume. “Here, drink this wine and get changed. The instructor will be here any minute now.” Lorraine took the glass of wine and gave Philippe a soft kiss before he headed into the bedroom to change. Philippe had laid the costume out on the bed for him. He took off his clothes and struggled to get into the tights. What a pain they were. Once the tights were on, the rest was easy.  He looked up to see Philippe watching him from the door into the living room.

Lorraine had just put the last item, the sash, on when he heard the instructor at the door. The instructor had brought his own music and smiled as introductions were made. His name was Kristo and his accent made Lorraine nostalgic for Greece. Kristo showed him some basic steps which they both mastered quickly. It was when the twirls were added that Philippe had the trouble. He had never learned the proper way to twirl and had some difficulty with it. He watched Lorraine do a series of twirls and started to figure out how to duplicate the quick head turn that kept one from getting dizzy. His head turn wasn’t at quick as Lorraine’s, but it was enough for him to be able to do a series of two or three twirls without getting too dizzy.

Philippe quipped, “It is much easier to do when you are not hung over!” He and Lorraine laughed.  They worked for five hours and had the routine down. Lorraine promised to work with him on it each night until Sunday. Philippe told Kristo about their honeymoon to Santorini. Kristo had cousins there and sighed as he remembered the family he had left behind. “Life is good here and I make enough to send money home to my family. I get to go home a couple of times a year, so I can’t complain. I am glad you both found my home country so enjoyable. Good luck at your party on Sunday.”

Then Philippe volunteered, “If you want, you are invited to come. We will have a Greek band and Greek food. It will be lots of fun.”

“Could I bring my wife?”

“Yes, please do! Come and dance with us if you want.”

“Oh, I think I would prefer to leave the dancing to you boys. Show them what a good instructor I am.”

“Okay! We will see you at one Sunday afternoon, then!”

They said their goodbyes and Lorraine came up behind Philippe and put his arms around him. “You are so generous and kind, love. I can’t wait for our party on Sunday!”

“Wait until you see the decorations, love!”

“Decorations? You are decorating?”

“Not me, I’ve hired the caterer’s wife to bring decorations. She showed me pictures of what she does at other parties. She hangs festive lights, and fishing type stuff and puts out some Greek signs with a blue and white theme. It will be perfect!”

“Yes, love, I am sure it will be. I am surprised you are having so much fun planning this. You never were big on parties, much less planning one.”

“Well, I have changed, love. Our honeymoon in Santorini opened me up to new experiences and I don’t want to be moody, sad Philippe anymore. And guess what, love!”

“What?”

“Several of the crates of wines arrived today! We will have plenty of Greek wine for the party!”

“You are going to use your precious Greek wine for the party?”

“And why not? I can always order more. I found a place that orders direct from the wineries in Santorini.”

“You have really been busy, love.”

“Did you think I just slept all day?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Okay, I don’t jump up as early as you, and I do like to sleep in, but I make good use of the time I am awake. I also have some duets for us to practice when you have more time, love.”

“I can’t wait, love.”

“Here, let me open a bottle of the Greek wine for us.”

Philippe had put several of the bottles of the Greek wine in the wine chiller, so they were ready to go. He opened one and brought it to Lorraine with some glasses. “Marda fixed us a cheese and fruit plate with a couple of ham sandwiches. I told her we had dance lessons tonight and she thought that would work for us better than a heavy supper.”

“Oh, that sounds excellent, love!”

Philippe took the platter from the fridge and took the plastic wrap off and brought it over with some napkins. They sat, drinking wine, eating fruit and cheese and munching on sandwiches.

“So, did you talk to Leo today?”

“Yes, and to my surprise he is very interested. He has 50,000 saved up and just paid his mortgage off and is willing to get another one.  He is a surprisingly frugal guy. Maybe he will know ways for us to cut back on costs for the business, too. He is very interested in taking over the day to day operations for me. And I have you to thank for opening my eyes to the possibilities!”

“As I have said before, love, glad to be of service to you!”

“And I am going to take you up on that when we get finished eating.”

True to his word, after the food was gone, Lorraine pulled Philippe into the bedroom. They brought the last two glasses of wine to drink as they lay in bed looking at the ocean painting hanging on the wall and remembering their honeymoon. When the wine was gone, Lorraine climbed on top of Philippe as they undressed each other. Lorraine proceeded to show Philippe just how much he loved him. They fell asleep later, with Lorraine spooning Philippe, both totally satisfied and happy.


	56. Friends, Beer and Blessed Announcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine trains Leo to become a junior partner while setting in motion a review of the company's grievance policies. He and Philippe meet Fabien and Claudine for a night of beer, pool and darts. Fabien and Claudine have a wonderful announcement to make. Philippe shows Lorraine the best way to wind down from the day and relieve tension.

The next week was a very busy one, again, for Lorraine. He worked with legal and Leo to get the junior partnership in the works. He was also very surprised at the huge response to the Employee Discrimination Grievance Team (EDGT). He was overwhelmed and angered at the fact there were many people with grievances. True, many were trivial or unfounded, but there were a good number that were legitimate. There was something odd happening, too. Many of the employees had paperwork showing they had filled out the forms and gone through proper channels with a grievance, but there was no corresponding paperwork in personnel. The absence of these reports meant that the reporting the company did to governmental agencies that tracked such things was off—so much so that the company had an A+ rating for employee relations. Lorraine wasn’t sure what was going on. Were the employees creating false documents to support their claims or was someone in his company falsifying records? Whichever it was, as owner of the company he was personally responsible, and he knew he had to get to the bottom of it.

He and Nichols decided to use the next person with a legitimate grievance as a guinea pig to see how the system worked. That person did not go through the EDGT, but instead, filed paperwork through the existing process. They would keep hands off it to see what would happen to it, if anything. Lorraine knew he would have to wait at least a week, probably longer, before he could inquire about the status. The average length of time for processing a grievance was three weeks—a period of time Lorraine found ridiculous. But before you can change a process you had to understand how that process worked and then you could evaluate what was good and bad about the process. Lorraine was running low on patience.

One thing he did do each morning was to ensure Philippe was aware of his goodbye kisses. Philippe responded to Lorraine’s kiss with a more ardent one to ensure Lorraine had something to think about all day and to look forward to in the evening. Philippe’s greeting for Lorraine in the evening became a game. It always included Philippe meeting Lorraine at the door with a glass of wine, but what Philippe wore each evening varied. Lorraine looked forward to seeing what surprise Philippe had for him that evening. One evening, Philippe met him at the door in only his leather “rock star” pants with three buttons undone, hair tousled, a gold chain but no shirt, and looking very sexy. Another time he met him in only a hip length ruffled shirt with a deep v-neck. Another night, Lorraine opened the door to find Philippe dressed only in thong underwear. No matter how turned on Lorraine was, Philippe always insisted they sit and drink 1-2 glasses of wine and listened while Lorraine downloaded his work grievances for the day. Once Lorraine had unburdened himself, then and only then could Lorraine act on his desires. The process was very effective. Lorraine went to sleep each night unburdened by work problems until he went out the door the next morning.

During the week, after Lorraine had unburdened and they had eaten, they spent at least an hour practicing their Greek dance for the party on Sunday with Philippe dressed in whatever he had shown up at the door in. The evening Philippe wore the thong underwear was quite amusing to Lorraine. Philippe discovered how uncomfortable he found the thong part of the underwear. He wanted to take it off almost immediately, but Lorraine wouldn’t let him until after their hour dance practice, when Lorraine removed it for him.

The weekend came, but Lorraine had to get up early on Saturday. Their seamstresses were working overtime to get the first of the new designs sewn and Lorraine had to go in to ensure Leo understood how the process was to work and what he was supposed to do so that Leo could take over the next one. Lorraine did get home at four in the afternoon with Philippe waiting for him wearing nothing but a frilly maid’s apron. As they sat drinking their wine and talking about Lorraine’s day, Lorraine’s hand kept trying to creep up under the apron and Philippe would slap or push the hand away. It wasn’t until Lorraine had drained his second glass of wine that his hand was allowed under the apron where it found Philippe’s hardening cock. Lorraine pushed Philippe back onto the couch and soon had him moaning in ecstasy. Philippe returned the favor and soon they were both lying naked on the couch, Philippe on top of Lorraine, bodies entwined and enjoying the warm afterglow of their climaxes.

Philippe broke the silence with, “You do remember we are meeting Fabien and Claudine at the pub tonight, don’t you?”

“Yes, what time are we to meet them?”

“In about thirty minutes.”

“I need a shower first to wash off the grime from the day.”

“It better be a quick one, love.”

“But, I don’t want to get up. I want to lay here with you.”

“Are we going to be late again for Fabien and Claudine? You know we almost always are.”

“I know, they sort of expect it from us.”

“But that is rude of us. Come on. Let’s get up and get dressed. We can take a shower when we get home tonight. The pub is always sort of smelly anyway. No one will notice your stench.” Philippe removed the arms and legs that he had wrapped around Lorraine and sat up on the couch.

Lorraine groaned and got up to head for the bedroom. He went in to the bathroom to at least wash his armpits and put on some deodorant. They dressed quickly. Philippe had thought to have the driver waiting for them downstairs and they made it to the pub almost exactly on time. Fabien and Claudine were just starting on their first mugs and looked surprised to see Philippe and Lorraine walk in arm in arm and on time.

Fabien greeted them both saying to Lorraine, “I hear work has kept you really busy lately. Glad to see you could take some time to kick back.”

Lorraine answered, “Yes, we have three new clients, I’m training Leo to become a junior partner and there are a ton of issues we are handling. BUT, that is all forbidden topics tonight. I won’t worry about them until on my way to work on Monday. I am here to enjoy a pleasant evening with good friends. And, how are my good friends, doing?”

Fabien answered, “We are doing very well, thank you. Claudine has some exciting news she wants to tell the both of you.”

Lorraine looked surprised, “Claudine, you have news for us? What on earth could it be?”

Philippe added, “Did you get into that new clinic you were interested in?”

Claudine smiled and said, “No, I decided that new clinic would be too much work and I am going to have to take some time off from work in a while.”

Lorraine said, “Okay. You have our interests piqued. What is your news?”

Claudine beamed as she said, “Fabien and I are expecting a child.”

Lorraine took Claudine’s hand and kissed it, saying, “That is wonderful news. When can we expect this little one to make its arrival?”

“In about five months,” Claudine was clutching her belly as she said it. There was a slight mound under her blouse.

Philippe said, “And you didn’t tell me last weekend?”

Fabien answered, “We were going to, but Lorraine didn’t come, and you were drinking too much so we decided to wait.”

Claudine said, “And don’t worry, I am not drinking alcohol. It’s a non-alcoholic apple cider punch. That’s what I drank last week, and Philippe never even noticed.”

Philippe said, “Well, in my own defense I was distracted and saddened that Lorraine wasn’t with us.”

Lorraine counted on his hands, “So your little one will be here sometime in January?”

Claudine said, “More like early February, I think.”

Lorraine said, “Well, we can’t be more pleased for you! You will both make good parents!  Of course, Fabien, all you have to do is glare at the child and it will be the most obedient child on this earth.”

Philippe countered with, “Fabien is a man with a terrifying look but a tender and caring heart.”

Lorraine said, “Yes, I suppose he is.”

Fabien laughed and said, “Chevalier, do you still hold it against me that I threw you into jail for treason?”

“No, no, you were just doing your duty and I admit to being forced to go against the king. But that was another lifetime, and all is forgiven.”

Philippe hugged and kissed Lorraine on the cheek. “You were so vexing and irritating back then, but I still couldn’t help but love you anyway.”

Lorraine asked, “So you are going to take a break from work?”

Claudine answered, “Yes, the last month or so of my pregnancy and then probably for at least six months afterwards—maybe longer. I have quite a bit of leave time built up plus good maternity leave. I want to spend as much time with our new baby as I can.”

Philippe said, “Fabien, I can arrange for you to take some time off, too. It is good for fathers to be with their babies, too. Besides, Claudine will need your help.”

Fabien then asked, “Claudine and I were wondering if you two would agree to be the child’s godparents?”

Lorraine answered first, “That is a wonderful honor but are you sure we are suitable?”

Fabien answered, “I have seen how good you both are with children. Lorraine, you cared for Philippe and Liselotte’s children as much as you would have your own. And Philippe, the love and guidance you gave those children was amazing. I know circumstances are different now, and if something did happen to both Claudine and I, it would be a big change for both of you to take on, but I can’t think of anyone else I trust more to raise our child than you two.”

Lorraine told Philippe, “Love, I think we should do it.”

Philippe smiled and said, “Of course, we will do it. Fabien, you have become like a brother to me. God knows you are more brother to me than my actual brother.”

Claudine got up and hugged both Philippe and Lorraine telling them, “Thank you both so much!”

Fabien got up to shake their hands, but they wound up hugging him instead.

“So, that is taken care of. Claudine and I are looking forward to your party tomorrow!”

“Fabien says it is Greek-themed!”

Philippe enthusiastically answered, “Yes! We have a Greek band and a Greek caterer. The decorations will all be Greek inspired, and Lorraine and I have learned a Greek dance that we will entertain you with in full Greek costume! My cases of Greek wines arrived and there will be plenty to drink. Claudine, we will have other non-alcoholic things to drink, too. Is there anything you prefer?”

“I am not picky. Whatever you have planned will be okay.”

“How about pomegranate lemonade? I think that is one of the non-alcoholic drinks the caterers are providing.”

Claudine answered, “That sounds amazing. Yes, I would love to try it.”

Lorraine said, “Philippe has been the one to plan and arrange the party. I have been too busy.”

Fabien said incredulously, “Philippe, is that true? I didn’t think you liked parties, much less enjoyed planning and arranging for one!”

Philippe answered, “I have changed since our honeymoon in Greece. I am tired of being sad, moody, depressed Philippe. I want to be fun and exciting.”

Lorraine added, “You should see the ritual we do every night when I get home. Philippe meets me at the door with a glass of wine and I never know what he is going to wear or not wear.”

Philippe interjected, “Maybe they might not want to hear all the details, love.”

Lorraine insisted, “Or is it you don’t want me to tell them about that thong underwear you wore the other night? Or about tonight when you only wore a frilly maid’s apron?”

Fabien and Claudine tried hard not to laugh, and Claudine blushed a little. They were, however, used to the eccentric antics of the two of them.

Philippe added, “The object is to get his mind off work problems. I sit him down on the couch and we drink a glass or two of wine. He talks about the day he had at work and gets out all his gripes and complaints. Then I take his mind totally off work and he doesn’t think about it until he is on his way to work the next day.”

Lorraine said, “It is very effective. And the only reason we made it here on time tonight is because he wouldn’t let me take time out to shower. And I did get home at four, so we had time for, uh, things.”

Fabien said, “And, I think it is time to order a pitcher of beer. Do you two want glasses or are you going to order wine?”

“We’ll have beer with you. I promise I won’t drink as much or as fast as I did last weekend.”

Lorraine added, “He had a very bad hangover the next day.”

Fabien laughed and said, “I figured he would the way he was drinking.”

Philippe tried to defend himself, “I missed you, love, and was upset that you had to work so hard and so long. It was difficult to come home to an empty and dark house all alone.”

Lorraine said, “I forgot to mention, he opened a bottle of wine, took off his clothes and waited for me on the couch. But he drank the whole bottle of wine himself and passed out on the couch. I came home tired and exhausted and had to deal with getting a very drunk Philippe to bed. But he did pass out again on the bed and being naked, I didn’t have to worry about trying to get him out of his clothes and ready for bed.”

Fabien said, “A bottle of wine on top of all the beer he drank here? No wonder he was so hungover the next day!”

Lorraine answered, “But, as difficult as he can be sometimes, I do love him. I feel guilty because lately, I have been so busy. The problem is that my business has gotten too large for me to handle on my own. To remedy that, we are working on making my assistant, Leo, a junior partner in the business. He will be able to take over the day to day operations and leave me with more time for designs and dealing with customers.”

“Oh, that is wonderful! I bet you can’t wait until you get that done!” Claudine told him.

Lorraine asked, “Which room are you going to use for the nursery?”

Claudine answered, “The one next to ours so we don’t have far to go at night.”

Philippe asked, “Are you going to get a nanny?”

“Not until after I have to go back to work. I want to be a hands-on mother as long as I can.”

“Then I had better make sure Fabien is there to help you. Newborn babies require a lot of attention and only sleep for maybe three hours at a stretch, if I remember right,” Philippe answered.

Lorraine remarked, “Since when did you ever get up in the middle of the night to help out with a newborn?”

Philippe answered, “It’s true, I never did. But I remember Liselotte complaining about it.”

“Liselotte never complained about anything regarding her children. She was the perfect mother.”

“And how would you know?” Philippe asked.

“I was there, darling. You slept through everything, but I sometimes got up to help.”

Claudine asked, “Maybe I should not ask this, but I have wondered about the sleeping arrangements for the three of you. Did you all three sleep in the same bed? If I’m being nosy, please tell me.”

Lorraine and Philippe looked at each other. Lorraine said, “You take this one, Philippe.”

Philippe thought before answering, “Well, not at first. At first there was a lot of jealousy on the Chevalier’s end. I only slept with Liselotte when we were, uh, trying to make a baby. But he acted like I had totally abandoned him. I tried to explain that I was just doing my duty as head of the House of Orleans. I was expected to make lots of babies to carry on the line.”

Lorraine sputtered, “But you didn’t have to enjoy it so much!”

“How many times do I have to tell you that, in the beginning, it was very hard for me—and much harder for Liselotte to realize she had a husband who was not the least bit attracted to her.”

“I’m sorry. It is a sensitive topic for me. It was hard to adjust to the new situation. I was jealous. I wanted you in my bed with me, not in bed with her. I was afraid of losing you. Of losing my place in court. If Louis thought for one minute that he could get away with it, he would have had me murdered and my body disposed of. I could have just disappeared.” Lorraine snapped his fingers. “Like that.”

Philippe realized how upset Lorraine was and put his arm around him and hugged him, kissing his cheek. “Love, I know it was a traumatic time for you and I know how my brother resented you and the lifestyle you and I had. I know he would have loved nothing more than to be rid of you, so he could have total control over me.”

Lorraine sighed and said, “Sorry. I know you were torn between loyalty to me and duty to France.”

Philippe said, “Imagine how surprised I was when I returned from that extended campaign and you and Liselotte were as thick as thieves. I thought for a bit there, that you two were sleeping together.”

“Oh, love, you know you didn’t have to worry about that. I was always faithful to you.”

Philippe answered very carefully, “I will choose to agree with you on that. What counts is where we are today. You do not question my love and devotion to you now, do you?”

Lorraine bent over and kissed Philippe softly, “No, love. I know you love me and only me as I know I love you and only you.”

Although Claudine’s question had not been answered, she decided it was best to leave that topic alone. Fabien suggested they order something to eat. He called the waiter over and they gave them their orders.

Claudine asked, “So what kind of food do the Greeks eat?”

Philippe responded with, “A wide variety of food. There will be gyros made from meat cut off a large roasted shank of meat—beef, lamb, or pork. I’m not sure which they will have. They pile it into pita or flat bread and top it with tzatziki sauce—a cucumber-sour cream sauce. In Santorini, they had the best fresh variety of tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers native to the volcanic soil there. They made a type of tomato cake that I loved—like a meatball but with tomato instead of meat. There was spanakopita—a spinach and cheese mix baked in crispy phyllo dough. I am sure they will have baklava—nuts and honey in phyllo. I asked for a sample platter of grilled seafood—prawns, octopus and lobster, if they can get fresh right now. It is going to be great so bring your appetites!”

Fabien answered, “Talking of which, here comes our food! Do we want another pitcher of beer?”

Both Lorraine and Philippe shook their heads, yes. The food was served. They emptied the current pitcher of beer into their glasses, so the waiter could take it and bring a new one.

Lorraine said, “Well, it isn’t Greek food, but there is nothing like good, down-home pub cooking to fill a belly!” They all agreed and toasted to the baby.

Once the food was consumed, they moved over to a pool table where Philippe and Lorraine challenged Fabien and Claudine to a game. While Fabien was a very good pool player, Claudine had not been very good in the past. That tended to equalize with the mediocre pool playing of Philippe and Lorraine. However, to their surprise, Claudine had been practicing and she and Fabien easily beat Philippe and Lorraine. For the next game, Fabien teamed up with Lorraine who was the worst of he and Philippe and Philippe teamed with Claudine. That time it was a closer game, and at the end, Fabien made a mistake that made Philippe wonder if he had thrown the game, so they could win. He wasn’t sure, so he accepted the win without comment.

They moved on to darts, which was interesting after the three men had drunk two pitchers of beer. Claudine beat all three of them easily since she had not been drinking. It was getting late and they knew it was either get another pitcher of beer and get very smashed or call it a night. Claudine was yawning and looked very tired, so they called it a night.

In the car, on the way home, Philippe told Lorraine how much fun he had had and how happy he was that Lorraine could get some good, fun, down-time. Lorraine responded with, “Down time? Is that an invitation?”

“Why don’t we wait until we get home where we can do it properly without prying eyes. Meanwhile, we can get warmed up for it.” Philippe leaned over and took Lorraine’s face in both hands and gave him a soft kiss, bit his bottom lip, then gently inserted his tongue between Lorraine’s lips for a more passionate kiss. They were very warmed up by the time they got home. Too warmed up to even stop for the shower that Lorraine had wanted. They enthusiastically took off each other’s clothes then Lorraine pushed Philippe onto the bed and went to his knees. Philippe moaned as Lorraine brought him to full arousal and then to a climax. Philippe pulled Lorraine up to kiss him then murmured in his ear, “Your turn love.”

Philippe then kissed Lorraine deeply as he pushed him down on the bed next to him. Philippe stood up and pushed Lorraine fully on the bed and crawled up on the bed. He laid on Lorraine and kissed him, as their bodies moved together. Philippe gently pushed the hair from Lorraine’s face and traced a finger across his lips before kissing him again. Then Philippe kissed his way down Lorraine’s body.  Lorraine was already responding, so it didn’t take long for Philippe to bring him to full arousal. He laid on him again and they kissed. Lorraine wrapped his arms around Philippe and rolled with Philippe until he was on top.

As Lorraine reached for the oil, Philippe grabbed two pillows from beside his head, and tossed them down to Lorraine. The moment Lorraine entered Philippe he knew this was exactly what he needed. Philippe moaned and encouraged him on. With each thrust, Lorraine felt his worries slipping away. This feeling of being one with Philippe took over his whole being.  He started slow, savoring the sensations, bending to softly kiss Philippe, the desire in him growing, Philippe moaning, asking him for more, Lorraine responding, the need becoming urgent, the desire mounting and taking over. And then the pulsing release of his seed, the ecstatic firing of his nerves, the climax setting him on fire as he cried out to Philippe. Then it was done, he labored to suck in the air his lungs needed. He felt his heart pounding. Every bit of energy was drained from him. And there was Philippe smiling up at him, pulling Lorraine down to lay body on body, flesh on flesh. Lorraine relaxed, his body now limp, Philippe’s arms wrapping around him, his fingers gently moving over his back. Philippe’s silky lips kissed his neck softly, moved to his chin, kissed his mouth—not in passion but in affirmation of the love they were feeling for each other after their union.

Lorraine finally managed to say in almost a whisper, “Thank you, love. I am amazed how well you know exactly what I need.”

Philippe answered, “It was written all over your body, love. Even after drinking the beer, the tension was still there. I think we both know the best way to release tension by now.”

Lorraine smiled and said, “Yes, we do , love.” Lorraine gave Philippe another soft kiss then rolled off him to lay beside him. “Now, I think we need to get some sleep, so we can be fresh and ready for our Greek party!” Philippe mumbled in agreement and turned to drape his arm and leg across Lorraine possessively. Lorraine’s breathing was slowing as was his beating heart. He felt the comfort in the feel of Philippe’s arm and leg over him. Lorraine closed his eyes and slipped into a peaceful and contented sleep.

 


	57. When the Past Comes Back to Haunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe host their Greek Wedding Present Opening party and entertain their guests with Greek music, dance and food. Philippe and his mother have a long talk where Philippe reveals some of the hardships and abuses he endured growing up without a mother or family. The encounter does not end well. Philippe and his mother do not part on good terms at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A word of warning: the following chapter contains descriptions of child abuse done to main characters that may be upsetting to some readers. Read at your own discretion.

Lorraine was awakened by Philippe’s lips kissing his neck. He opened his eyes to see  Philippe smiling down on him. “Yes! You are awake, finally!”

Lorraine reached his hand up to stroke Philippe’s face and pushed his hair back. “It is a pleasure to wake to your touch.” He put his other hand on Philippe’s back and pulled him down, so he could kiss him. “Finally, a morning I can start my day off doing what I love to do.” He kissed Philippe’s soft lips tenderly, then put a hand on both sides of Philippe’s face and kissed him with more passion.

Philippe returned the kiss and pressed his body against Lorraine’s. “We have some time before we have to get ready for our party. How do you suggest we spend it?” Philippe asked.

In answer, Lorraine’s hands moved down to Philippe’s bare ass and pushed Philippe hard into him as he whispered into Philippe’s ear, “I want you to fuck me, love, but first, let me get you stimulated.” Lorraine then used the leverage of his hands upon Philippe’s ass to roll over on top of Philippe. He kissed him again, then moved downward as his hands found Philippe’s cock and began gentle stroking until he could move down far enough to get his mouth into the action. Philippe moaned as he responded to Lorraine’s manipulations.

Philippe finally said, “Enough, love. Kiss me now.” Lorraine did as he was told and engaged in a fervent, tongue twisting kiss with Philippe before Philippe rolled him over and sat up on his knees to straddle him. Philippe kissed Lorraine’s neck as his hands massaged his chest and teasingly twisted his nipples. Philippe grabbed a pillow as he moved downward on his knees and positioned himself between Lorraine’s legs. Lorraine took the chance to reach over to the nightstand for the oil which he handed to Philippe.

Philippe placed the pillow under Lorraine’s hip, then slid his hands down Lorraine’s legs to his ankles and slowly pushed his ankles up, bending Lorraine’s legs at the knees. He draped Lorraine’s legs over his shoulders as he moved in closer to Lorraine. He poured a little oil into his cupped hand and ran the fingers of his other hand through the oil. He prepared himself then Lorraine. Lorraine moaned softly as Philippe penetrated him.

“You okay, love?” Philippe asked. At Lorraine’s “yes,” Philippe worked his way in deeper until he had reached full penetration. Lorraine wrapped his legs loosely around Philippe’s neck to keep them from slipping down. That freed up Philippe’s hands, one of which began stroking Lorraine’s cock, while Philippe used the other to brace himself on Lorraine’s hip. Both men were making noises as the intensity  of their actions increased.

Lorraine cried out, “Oh, love, yes, oh god,” as he spilled his seed and writhed with his orgasm. Now Philippe could use both hands to brace himself and get the deepest penetration. To his surprise, Lorraine again started moaning and writhing, calling out, “Ohhh, goddddd, Philippe!” as waves of ecstasy washed over him again. With Lorraine still inexplicably moaning and writhing beneath him, Philippe felt the pulsing that preceded his own release and orgasm. Philippe involuntarily cried out as he felt his release and the wave of ecstasy washing over him. Moaning, he made his last few thrusts and felt all the energy drained out of him. Lorraine’s legs slid limply off Philippe’s shoulders onto the bed as Lorraine still whimpered softly.

Concerned, Philippe asked, “Love, are you okay?”

Lorraine finally answered, “My god, Philippe. What did you do to me?”

Alarmed, Philippe answered, “Did I hurt you?”

“Hurt me? Oh god, no, love. I had the most intense orgasm of my life—actually, it was a series of orgasms— _after_ I ejaculated. Something different happened while you were fucking me.”

“Well, I don’t usually put your legs over my shoulders. Did that have something to do with it?”

“That certainly allowed you to penetrate me deeper. I don’t know. I will have to try it on you and see what happens.”

“Now?”

“Oh, god, no. I am totally exhausted and sexually drained. Lorraine reached out and pulled Philippe down to kiss him. “Can we just lay here and enjoy the touch of our bodies against each other for a while?”

“The caterers will be here in about an hour, so we have a little time. I want to shower before they come, but we have time to just relax.”

“Tonight, after our guests are gone, I will have to try and replicate on you what you just did to me. What a way to start the day! Thank you, love.”

“I don’t really know what I did, but you are welcome.”

They laid entwined in each other’s arms, caressing and gently kissed each other for a while. Finally, they got up to take a shower and dress for the party. Because the tights were so uncomfortable, they decided to put the costumes on just for the dance. Then they debated whether or not to put on their wedding suits. The suits had been expertly steam cleaned, packed and sent from Greece to Paris. Lorraine hated the thought of destroying the careful packing and getting them wrinkled or dirty, but Philippe thought it was a shame to have them and not wear them to this special party that was an extension of their wedding. In the end Philippe won saying that they could send them to the cleaners again and have them repackaged.

Once they had the suits on Philippe quipped, “We’d better take every opportunity to wear these while we can. I’m afraid after a year of marriage and Marda’s wonderful cooking, neither of us may fit into these suits.”

Lorraine looked horrified and said, “Speak for yourself! I have no intention of getting fat!”

Philippe sighed and said, “Unfortunately, I am not sure I could get fat if I wanted to. Think about it. In our previous lives we ate sumptuous, fattening foods every day and neither of us got fat. Granted, we did put on a few pounds in the last years, but I think that is just a natural byproduct of the aging process.”

Lorraine said, “Well, I will love you, fat or skinny, just as long as you don’t get so fat or out of shape that you can’t make proper love to me!”

Philippe answered by kissing Lorraine softly. “I will always…” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s cheek. “…be willing to…” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s neck.  “…make love to you.” He kissed Lorraine’s lips again. “Now, let’s get ready to greet the caterers. They should be here any time now.”

Philippe was right, it wasn’t five minutes before the caterers arrived, bustling about, bringing in tables and setting them up in the living/dining room and out in the garden.  The caterer’s wife showed up and began hanging out blue and white paper lanterns, putting out fishing paraphernalia—netting, colorful small buoys, and hand-painted, rustic wooden signs with fish, lobster, shrimp, mussels, and octopus on them. She had also ensured the tables were set with white linen tablecloths with Greek blue borders.

Then the Greek musicians showed up and Philippe hugged them and showed them where he wanted them to set up—just outside the sliding doors so they could be heard inside and outside.

An hour before the party was to start, the caterers brought in the refrigerated carts containing trays of the first of the food: veggies, toasted pita chips, a variety of dips and fruit and cheese trays. They set up a container that dispensed an alcoholic pomegranate and strawberry punch and one that dispensed a nonalcoholic pomegranate lemonade, both labeled very clearly. There was also a table with chilled buckets of the Estate Argyros Assyrtiko (white) wine and glasses. Bottles of the Estate Argyros Atlantis Red were put in a “chiller” that had a “cool” setting to keep the wine at the perfect 60 to 70 degrees until it was time to put the bottles out for consumption. Philippe and Lorraine helped themselves to a glass of the white as they oversaw the setup.

The last table they set up was the table for the wedding presents. When they were all carried from the bedroom and arranged on the table, Lorraine and Philippe went over to look at them. Lorraine put his arm through Philippe’s arm and said wistfully, “They look too pretty to open. Seeing them takes me back to the wedding. Somehow, it seems so long ago.”

Philippe made a surprised face and asked, “What exactly are you implying? Don’t you like being married?”

Lorraine pulled on Philippe’s arm to turn him, so they were face to face and said very seriously, “Never, ever doubt that I am truly, absolutely in love with you and that being married to you is the best thing in my life! I think it is my job that is weighing on me. At times I feel like it is an anchor tied to my legs dragging me under the water and the only thing keeping me afloat is you.”

Philippe put his hand under Lorraine’s chin and raised his head slightly, “Love, remember the rules. You cannot think of work until you are in your car on Monday. Now, let me drive all bad thoughts from your mind for now.” Philippe put both arms around Lorraine and drew him close. He kissed Lorraine’s cheek softly then moved his lips onto Lorraine’s in the softest of kisses. “Now, remember this morning when I had you writhing and moaning. That is the expression of our love that carries both our hearts throughout each day. That is what we both live for, those special moments we have together.” Philippe then kissed Lorraine again, this time more fervently and hungrily.

They were interrupted when one of the caterers needed to get by with a tall and large enclosed metal cart. As the cart went by, they could smell the aroma of roasted meat wafting from it. Philippe said, “That smells like lamb for the gyros! I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“Well, we got up late and didn’t eat, so it is no surprise we are hungry. I wonder if it would be rude to ask them to slice of a few pieces of lamb and put it on a pita for us?”

“We are paying for this, so I think we can do whatever we want! And we can ask nicely.”

The caterers very graciously opened the metal door that revealed the electric heating elements inside that were keeping the meat rotating on a spit piping hot. The guy expertly carved several pieces of lamb, cut a pita in half, stuffed the lamb inside each half, poured some tzatziki sauce onto the meat, and put the halves on plates to hand to Philippe and Lorraine who thanked him profusely.

They filled their glasses with more wine, then moved over to the couch out of the way of the caterers to enjoy their gyros. Philippe said, after devouring half of his gyro, “This is so simple, but so good!” It didn’t take long for them to finish the gyros and the wine.

Lorraine looked at Philippe and said, “Hold still, you have some sauce on your chin.” Lorraine leaned over and licked Philippe’s chin, then moved his lips to the side of Philippe’s mouth. “And here.” Then to the other side. “And here.” Then kissed Philippe saying at the end. “All clean!”

They were kissing again when they were interrupted, this time by Fabien saying, “Why have you left your door open and unguarded and sit here totally oblivious to the danger?”

Philippe broke away from Lorraine to say, “Oh, hi, Fabien! The caterers were in and out, so we opened it. I guess I thought someone from security was out there guarding it.”

Fabien answered, “There is someone out there now, guarding it. Do you have a list of invited guests you can give them?”

Philippe answered, “Yes, it is on the bar there. Hi, Claudine! Have a seat and make yourself comfortable. There is punch over there and some snacks if you want.”

Claudine sat on the opposite couch and said, “Thank you. I’m not hungry or thirsty now, but I do plan on having some of that pomegranate punch in a bit. Don’t you two look dashing in your wedding suits!”

Lorraine asked, “How are you feeling, dear?”

“Oh, I am feeling good. The worst of the nausea seems to have past.”

“Has the little one kicked you in the ribs yet?” Lorraine asked.

“No, but I am expecting it any day now. Sometimes I can feel a little movement—or it could just be indigestion.” They all laughed at that.

With security arrangements finished, Fabien joined Claudine on the couch. “It is looking pretty festive in here. Lots of nice touches. Feel almost like I am at a Greek seaport.”

Philippe quipped, “We should have brought in a few dead fish to make the smells authentic.”

Lorraine hit Philippe’s shoulder, “Stop it, Philippe, you know it was only fishy where they were unloading the catches. Otherwise, the air was delightful. A cool breeze with the slight tang of salt always blew off the ocean. And the ocean waters were so blue!”

“To be truthful, he is right. I only exaggerate about the fish smell,” Philippe replied. “It was a wonderfully beautiful place. The view from our balcony was the best. Sunsets over the water were breathtaking. And, at night, when the moon shone on the water, it was magical.”

“And we had the most amazing infinity edge pool on our deck. We found it a very special place, night or day,” Lorraine added.

Fabien answered, “I imagine you two did.”

“Did you take lots of photos to show us?” Claudine asked.

“We only took a few photos, of ourselves mainly. There was no way the cameras on our phones could truly capture the beauty of the place, so why waste time trying?” Philippe answered.

“That is too bad. I would like to have seen how beautiful the place was,” Claudine replied.

“Oh, we intend to show you. There is this very good promotional video of Santorini that captures some of the beauty. We just don’t want to bore anyone with a ton of vacation photos of us,” Lorraine told her.

Philippe added, “Tonight we hope to bring you a little of the Greek hospitality that we enjoyed. We have a little surprise for all of you.”

Lorraine said, “And the surprise may be that we embarrass ourselves.”

Philippe intervened, “We have been practicing all week. We both are doing great! They’ll love it!”

Claudine said, “Now you have me intrigued! I can’t wait!”

Then more guest appeared, and Philippe and Lorraine got up to greet the people coming in. Philippe told the musicians to start playing—not too loudly, so people could still talk. It wasn’t to be a huge party—just close friends and some co-workers. And family—Philippe sighed heavily when he saw Louis and his mother come in. He had hoped that maybe they would stay away. He did take note that his mother was now walking on her own and must be doing better. Philippe felt a tinge of guilt then pushed it aside. Why should he feel guilty for not visiting the mother who had pretended he didn’t exist for twenty-six years? Yes, there were things he wanted to tell her, but they were probably things she wouldn’t want to hear.

Lorraine saw his scowl and prodded him, “Now, Philippe, remember to be nice. She is your mother after all.”

“In name only, and barely that.”

Lorraine squeezed Philippe’s arm, “I know, love, that it is hard. Can you give me a little smile, please?”

Philippe gave Lorraine a quick smile as Lorraine gently pulled him towards Louis and his mother to greet them. Philippe put on what he called his “court smile”—the smile you give people you barely know who think they are your best friend. He endured her smothering hug while he and Louis made just the smallest pretense of a hug.

“Hello, Mother, glad to see you walking on your own again. I hope that means you are feeling better, too.”

“Oh, thank you, Philippe. I am doing much better, now. This place really looks festive! But why all the fish things?”

Louis told her, “Remember, Mother, Lorraine and Philippe went to a Greek island on their honeymoon.”

“Oh, that’s right. You told me. Sorry, sometimes things don’t stay in my head for very long.”

Philippe answered, “I understand. Please, help yourself to some punch—we’ve got an alcoholic one and a nonalcoholic one, or we have Greek wine. The Greek wine is from grapes grown on Santorini, the small island we visited. Because of the volcanic soil, they have adapted unique ways of growing the grapes. They train the branches into nests to keep them close to the ground to keep the constant wind from drying them out and to allow the best absorption of the evening fogs that drift in. It’s a several hundred-year-old tradition used only in Santorini.”

Louis answered, “Sounds like you really got into the wine making aspect of your honeymoon.”

Lorraine quipped, “And the wine drinking aspect! We ate so much great food and had so much great wine! Santorini is a beautiful place with outstanding hospitality!”

Philippe noticed his mother was looking confused but decided to ignore it. He was sure Louis would explain whatever was confusing her. “Mother, there should be plenty of seats for you to sit in if you get tired, but if they are all taken, please ask and we can get one for you. Now, excuse us, some more guests are coming in. Please help yourself to the snacks and drinks—we will be having a meal in a bit.”

Philippe pushed Lorraine quickly away to greet the new guests. Lorraine whispered in his ear, “See, now, was that so hard?” Philippe just made a face, then put on his “court smile,” to greet the guests who were co-workers of Lorraine’s.

Philippe noticed that Louis made the rounds with his mother to introduce himself to everyone. It annoyed Philippe that Louis would use this party to further his political ambitions. Yes, everyone would know he had a brother who was mayor of Rouen and who just might be considering a run for president—and that his brother was so apparently charming and pleasant and intelligent.

Lorraine whispered, “You are scowling again! Stop it.”

Philippe could not help but notice his mother filling up her glass with the alcoholic punch and that she did so while Louis’s attention was elsewhere. Both punches were red so once the glass was filled Louis wouldn’t know what was in their mother’s glass.  He wondered if there were any medications his mother was on that should keep her from drinking alcohol. Then he shrugged it off. She was a grown woman and should be able to make her own decisions. What was it to him if she drank alcohol when she wasn’t supposed to?

The party was going well. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Lorraine was off talking to Leo and his wife, when Philippe felt someone tugging at his elbow. He turned to see his mother. “Philippe, I would like to talk to you—somewhere private if we can.” Philippe looked for Louis but saw he was engaged in conversation with Fabien and Claudine.

“Yes, mother, can we not talk out here?”

“No, it is too noisy, and I need to say this in private. Just between you and I.”

Short of saying, “No, I don’t want to talk to you,” Philippe could see no way out of it. Instead, he said, “Then come, we can talk in this bedroom, here.” He led her to the nearest spare bedroom.

Once inside she looked around uncomfortably and asked, “This isn’t where you and, uh, your husband sleep, is it?”

“Mother, his name is Lorraine, and no, we do not sleep in here, nor do we come in here to fuck. At least not recently.”

His comment had the exact effect he had wanted. His mother was shocked and was now, totally uncomfortable.

Philippe was on a roll and didn’t want to stop, “I suppose Louis told you what it means when two men marry, didn’t he? It is the same as when a man and a woman marry. Exactly the same, except neither man has a cunt, so they so they substitute mouths and asses. Surely you and my father, may god rest his soul, knew what married people do—you got pregnant with two sons, didn’t you? Or were you one of those frigid women who abhorred sex and just laid there enduring it?”

His mother was livid now and shot back, “Stop it right now, do you hear me? You will not talk to me of these vulgar and vile things!”

“Vulgar? Vile? Do you want to hear something that is truly vulgar AND vile? Me, a six-year-old boy abandoned by his mother, living in a foster home where this man—I refuse to call him father or anything like that—raped me the first night I was there. I was forced to steal a kitchen knife and when he came back the next night, I stabbed him—but not before he beat me. Do you know who was punished? I was! I was branded a delinquent from that day forward. A frightened six-year-old boy! _Good_ families didn’t want to take me, so I was shunted off to those just in it for the money or for those wanting easy victims.”

“Stop it, I don’t want to hear it! I am sorry, I did what I thought was best.”

“Did you not think to inquire about what happened to me, your son, at all over all these years? After too many years of abuse, I finally ran away at thirteen. I was on the streets. No food, the only clothes those I wore, no shelter. Do you know what police do to thirteen-year-old boys they find sleeping in the park? They do not care. They tell you to move on and, if you don’t move fast enough, they hit you with their baton. I was taken in by a group—gang, really—of boys my age, some younger, some older—all answering to a sixteen-year-old boy. He taught us to rob grocery stores for food. A couple would cause a commotion elsewhere while the others loaded pockets and coats up with food and ran out. We begged for money. Some got very good at picking pockets. We slept in storm drains, abandoned warehouses, wherever. Then came the man who told us that he could help us get set up in a nice comfortable place, with plenty of food, nice things and whatever we wanted. We could become companions to older men.”

All his mother could say was, “I am so sorry. I didn’t know.”

Still Philippe pushed on. “The truth was, many times on the street we had to sell our bodies anyway. And that was never a good experience. It is amazing what you will do when you haven’t eaten anything in a week, but some refuse fished out of a garbage can. So, I agreed to do it. When they took me to Harry’s house, I was a mess. I was beyond filthy, skin and bones, sores and cuts all over my body. And I was just about broken in spirit. I had started to think about throwing myself in front of a bus. Harry was kind. He bathed me and washed my hair. It took several days before I was truly clean. Yes, he enjoyed giving me the bath. He lingered in certain areas. I didn’t care, I was numb. He fed me. Just soups at first. But even those were like manna from heaven to me.”

Philippe’s mother looked hopeful, “So, he was a good man, just looking for a child to raise?”

Philippe sighed. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go on, but his mother prodded him, “Tell me, was he a good man?”

“A good man? In many ways he was. He took me for a haircut, for new clothes. He even bought me some toys. A soldier of war set, a couple of trucks. Things I had never had before. I was probably too old for them, but I enjoyed playing with them anyway. It was two weeks before I learned what I had to do to earn these things. That was the night we shared a bottle of wine. He got me drunk. He told me how much he loved me. How I was such a beautiful young man—not a boy—but a man. Then he proceeded to show me how men loved each other. He was gentle; he was caring. He made sure I was always at least half-way drunk. And I fell in love with him. Well, as much as a thirteen-year-old who has never known real love can love a sixty-year-old man. It sounds absolutely absurd to me now, but it didn’t back then. I adored him. Even when he would have a friend or two over and ‘share me.’ I was their young god. They bought me presents. He introduced me to great books. My reading skills had been poor, but once I started going through his wonderful library of classics and great books, I improved immensely, with his help. What do you think of that? A thirteen-year-old-boy in love with a sixty-year-old man. Having sex with him and his friends? Do you think that was being a good man?”

His mother spluttered, “Well, I , uh, no that is not good.”

Philippe answered, “You are wrong, he _was_ a good man. He was the only one who showed me kindness and love in all my thirteen years. What were you doing when I was thirteen?”

“Well, I, uh, let me think.”

“Did you and Louis have food on the table? Did you have a nice roof over your head? He would have been fifteen then. Did he go to a good school? Was he planning for college?”

“Well, yes to all of that. I had a good job by then.”

Philippe shook his head slowly, “You had all of that and you did not stop to think what might be happening to your thirteen-year-old son. That he might be the sexual plaything of sixty-year-old men? The truth is, when you gave me up for adoption, you pushed all thought of me out of your mind.”

“No, that is not true! I thought of you all the time!”

“Then why didn’t you come looking for me? No, don’t answer that. We both know the answer already.”

“Did that man send you to college?”

“No, when I was fifteen, he died. Had a heart attack while fucking me. He was sitting on the edge of the bed and I was sitting on his lap, doing most of the work. He started moaning and making strange noises—but he always did that when he came. I didn’t think much of it until he tried to stand up, calling my name then fell forward on top of me pushing me to the floor and trapping me under his body.  He was moaning and making whispering noises. I struggled to push him off me and finally succeeded. I was scared to death. I knew he was saying something, so I got down to put my head as close to his mouth as I could. I finally figured out he was saying, “Call 911.”

“Remember, I was a kid from the streets. I had never used a phone before, but I had watched him. It took a few tries, but I got through. When they asked me what my address was, I had no idea. I paid no attention to things like that. They finally traced the address through the phone line. I did have the sense to get dressed before they arrived—mostly because I didn’t want them to see me naked. When they asked what happened I lied. I was afraid if I they knew what I was doing to him, they would blame me. I said he was sleeping, and I heard him cry out and fall to the floor and I came to check on him. When they questioned me, I only told them that he had taken me in and treated me like his own son. Funny, but it never occurred to me that he had committed a crime. I didn’t tell them what we really were to each other because I was afraid that I was the one who would be punished.

He died in the hospital a week later. His daughter came to settle his things and found me still living there. I tried to explain to her that we were in love and that only infuriated her. She called me a filthy street animal and said I had conned a kind, but senile old man.  I knew what was coming so I had gone through our stuff and took things I could easily hock—mostly jewelry. I put them in a bag and hid them outside. Sure enough, as soon as she had the authority, she kicked me out with nothing but the clothes I was wearing. But I had that secret bag of jewelry. The only problem with that is any kid walking into a pawn shop with any amount of jewelry is automatically a suspect for robbery and I didn’t have any identification. And once you are on the street, the bigger kids shake you down constantly for money. So, I had to hide it carefully and only take a piece or two at a time. I went in with this older kid who would pawn it for me—he had a working relationship with a pawn shop owner, so he got much more money than I could have but I had to split it with him 40-60. It was enough to provide me a decent amount of food for a while. The older kid did teach me about homeless shelters and food kitchens. That helped. ”

“Surely someone realized what was going on? Didn’t the child welfare people get involved?”

“Oh, yes, someone finally called child welfare on me and they sent me to another foster home. I ran away again and was back on the streets. When I turned sixteen, I met some guys who were starting a band. They needed a singer and I had a moderately good voice—better than any of theirs. We scraped together and got a cheap hotel room. Then we found a guy who would hire us for manual labor. We used that money to buy some instruments, got a few gigs and made a little money. Some band members came and went. We changed our name several times. We did a lot of free stuff to build up a small following. We got good enough to book some real gigs. Set aside part of all our earnings to invest in better instruments and equipment.”

“After about five years we got good enough to play at local bars and had a good following. We still lived in crap apartments—all of us in a one bedroom. I hid the fact that I liked other guys for fear they would kick me out. At the time, I wasn’t even sure that was really what I liked. But I didn’t really have an interest in girls. Sometimes there would be a groupie who wanted to fuck all of us and when it came my turn I would insist on fucking in private and I’d do my best, but it just wouldn’t happen. I’d beg her not to tell anyone, that I just drank too much. Sometimes I had to pay her money to keep quiet.”

“Then I just started getting drunk and high, so I didn’t have to deal with it. The band got better. Got a record deal. I spent a good deal of time either drunk, high or both. I decided to call myself Philippe duc d’Orleans and the fans loved it. We became “overnight sensations” after years of hard work. The drugs took over. A friend of mine died of an overdose.  I was too high to even notice he was dead until the next day. I went into rehab, then into depression.”

“Louis ‘found’ me. He brought me to see you. How was I supposed to feel after twenty-six years of misery where no one loved me or cared for me? Years of loneliness, fear, feeling worthless, being abused and used, raped, beaten? Then you two show up and are going to take this pain away by just saying I am now part of your family? It doesn’t work that way. I’m sorry but I can’t forgive you. I can’t love you. It is all I can do to not loathe and hate you.”

“I know Louis hates that I am his brother. I am not at all the brother he wanted. And you?” Philippe shook his head. “How can I love you knowing what you did to me? I may as well be an alien creature to you. Hell, I am an alien creature to you. I have told you my life’s story, described all the pain and terrible things done to me. You have heard the words. Probably on some level I repulse you—make you sick inside. You think you might know how I felt. You might be sorry for what I endured, but I don’t need or want your pity or apologies.”

His mother looked sad and said, “Maybe someday you will be able to forgive me. I pray to God every day for your forgiveness.”

“ _GOD_? Oh woman, your ignorance is deeper than I ever imagined. You weren’t there for me and neither was God! Do you think God looks away when Louis is fucking his mistress? Yes, don’t look shocked. Louis has at least one mistress, probably more. Do you think praying to God is going to make Louis be faithful to his wife after all these years? I don’t give a damn what Louis does or even what you do. When we have these little gatherings where your presence is expected, I will be polite to you. I will do what is expected of a son in front of others. But you will never get my forgiveness. And I will never, ever love you. This will be the last time I will speak to you in private, do you understand? Do you have any questions you want to ask? I will not answer any questions from you after today.”

“Just one. You have made such a remarkable come-back—for lack of a better word—your life seems so together, now. What changed?”

“That is easy. I met Philippe Lorraine. He showed me I was worthy of love. And before I met him, I had already started climbing out of the hole I had dug for myself.”

“Sorry, if this offends you, but I have to ask, what makes you think Lorraine isn’t just another Harry—another rich man willing to take you into his world because—and I know no other way to put it—you and he have great sex together and you think of that as love?”

Philippe’s mother took his extreme quietness as mere reticence.  If Lorraine had been there to see it, he would have seen the silent clenching of Philippe’s fist. He would have known Philippe was about to blow and would have found somewhere else to be, FAST. But his mother was clueless.

Philippe looked down his nose at his mother. He chewed his lip. Started to open his mouth but thought better of it. He stared at her straight into her eyes. She didn’t flinch or react in any way, standing there as if she had just asked him if he preferred red or white wine. When he finally spoke it was with slow, restrained deliberation. “These are the last words I am going to say to you. Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. House. NOW!” He was so close to slapping the hell out of her and when she just looked at him in indignant outrage, he had to turn and leave before he throttled her. He stormed out of the bedroom, slammed the door and stomped back to the master bedroom leaving everybody in the living room stunned.

Louis had seen his mother go into the bedroom with Philippe and feared the worst. He hastened to the door and knocked. He heard his mother sobbing inside and hurried in. “What happened?” Louis asked hugging his hysterical mother.

“He cursed at me,” she managed to say between sobs.

“You know he can be crude, mom. Don’t let that upset you.”

“He said he hated me,” she was still sobbing.

“He said that last time, too. It will take him time.”

“and he would never forgive me.”

“We both know how he holds grudges.”

“Then he, he….”

“Mother, did he slap you or hurt you in any physical way?”

“No, I thought he was going to. But he said, he said…”

“What did he say Mom?”

“For me ‘to get the fuck out.’ He used those words. To me, his mother!”

“What did you do or say to him to make him say that?”

“I’m not feeling good, I want to go home.”

“Mom, sit on that bed for a minute. Lay down if you feel the need to. Let me go talk to Philippe and sort this out.”

Meanwhile, Lorraine had been outside in the garden while Fabien had been inside the house. When Fabien saw Philippe storm into the master bedroom, he had immediately gone out to get Lorraine. They both went inside in time to intercept Louis who looked angry. When Louis saw the two of them, he shouted, “Get out of the way. I need to speak with my brother!”

Fabien placed himself between Louis and the master bedroom while Lorraine hurried in to talk to Philippe. Fabien told Louis, “Cool down. Let Lorraine go see if Philippe wants to talk. What is going on here?”

Louis answered angrily, “Philippe insulted our mother and told her to get the fuck out. No one uses language like that to my mother. Not even _him_.”

Fabien answered, “Look, I can’t let you go in to talk to him until he is ready to talk to you. Maybe you should go talk to your mother and see if she can tell you more of what happened.”

“She is not feeling well.”

“Then maybe you should go check on her. It could be the alcohol she’s been drinking that has her feeling bad.”

“Alcohol? She’s on medication. She knows she is not supposed to drink alcohol! She’s been drinking the nonalcoholic punch.”

“No, the last three times she has gone to the alcoholic side. I have seen her.”

“Three times you say? Oh my god!” Louis turned and ran to the bedroom door swinging it open to reveal his mother collapsed on the floor.

Fabien pushed past Louis to the fallen woman and picked her up to put her on the bed and checked her pulse. “Her pulse is weak, and she is not breathing very well. Call the paramedics, while I continue to monitor her.”

“She’s my mother, I should be doing that.”

“Do you know CPR if her heart stops beating or she stops breathing? Don’t argue, call the paramedics.  Hell, give me that phone.”

Fabien took the phone away from a shocked Louis and called the paramedics. Once he got them on the way, he told Louis to put the phone on speaker, so he could talk to them as he worked. Louis did as he was told.

Fabien told the paramedics, “Her pulse is slowing down. It is very weak. I am having trouble counting the beats.”

Guests gathered just outside the door to listen to what was going on. Meanwhile, Lorraine was talking to Philippe. When he entered their bedroom, Philippe had his back to him and he could tell by the tension in Philippe’s body that Philippe was extremely angry. He approached cautiously. “Philippe, love.  It’s me, Lorraine.”

“I don’t want to talk now. Leave me alone, please.”

“I know, love, but please. Louis is mad, and Fabien is doing his best to  hold him back. May I ask what happened?”

“That woman happened.”

“Oh, your mother?”

Philippe sighed in answer but kept his back to Lorraine.

“Well, we both know she’s something of an idiot.” Lorraine was desperately trying to lighten the mood.

“No, she’s dead to me. I told her to get the fuck out. I never want to talk to her again.”

“Oh, you did? In those words?” Lorraine’s attention was divided now—he could hear a commotion outside, so he backed up to look out the door and saw the crowd of people at the spare bedroom door. In a more serious tone he asked, “Philippe what did you do to her? You didn’t hit her, did you?” Lorraine’s face was fraught with worry.

“No, I wanted to strangle her, but I didn’t. I stormed into here before she made me lose my temper completely.”

“Are you sure you didn’t accidentally push her or something?”

“No, if I had touched her, I would have hurt her badly. I resisted, barely.”

“But what caused you to get so mad at her, love?” Lorraine wasn’t sure that was the right thing to ask at this moment but did anyway.

“She compared you to Harry.”

Now, Lorraine was truly confused. “Harry? Who is Harry, love?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Well, uh, yes, if it helps me understand what has happened here, so I can fix it.”

“You can’t fix this.”

“So, uh, love, who was Harry?”

Philippe sighed loudly again before answering, “A sixty-year-old man I loved when I was just fifteen. He was rich, and I was his boy toy. But after living on the streets, living with him was a dream—even when he shared me with his friends.”

Lorraine was shocked. Not so much at what Philippe had said. He knew Philippe had a rough time growing up. It was the way he said it without any emotion but with that edge Lorraine knew meant Philippe was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Lorraine was trying to formulate what he could say next that would help things and not make them worse.

When Lorraine didn’t answer right away, Philippe continued, “She said you were just like Harry, a rich man who is just using me for sex and calling it love.”

Now Lorraine had an urge to go throttle Philippe’s mother himself. “Love, you don’t believe that is true, do you?”

That is when Philippe turned and rushed towards Lorraine. Lorraine braced, not sure what was coming at him. But Philippe hugged Lorraine and buried his face into his chest, crying. “No, I know you are not like that.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I thought, if I told her all the terrible things that happened to me, she might understand why I can’t love her. Every day of twenty-six years she could have said something, could have come looking. She waited until she thought she might die before she finally did something. After pouring out my story to her, do you know what she did?”

Lorraine was afraid to ask, but knew Philippe expected him to ask. “No, love, what did she do?”

“She threw _GOD_ at me! Like God didn’t let me down as much as she did. Like all we had to do was pray and things would suddenly be right. We can’t undo what has been done.”

“Yes, love, I know. All we can do is face that they happened, figure a way to go on with that knowledge, and put the past behind us. You have done all that. I know you have.”

Philippe raised his head to look into Lorraine’s face. “Yes, I have. You have made me feel like I was worth loving. You have shown me unconditional love. She has no idea what real love is.”

“And that is her loss, my love. Oh, I hear the door bell, someone is coming in. Do you mind if I go see what is going on? I will be right back. Go wash your face, love. It will make you feel better.”

As Lorraine came out of the bedroom, he saw the paramedics coming through the door. He rushed over to the crowd outside the bedroom and pushed his way inside where he saw Fabien giving CPR to Philippe’s mother. “Oh, my god! What happened?”

Louis shouted, “Philippe did this to her!”

While Fabien answered, “She mixed alcohol with her medication knowing her doctors had said not to.”

At that time, the paramedics entered, and Lorraine moved back out of the way. Fabien continued to give her CPR while he answered the paramedics’ questions, then he stepped aside and let them take over. He and Lorraine left the room.

Lorraine said, “What am I going to tell Philippe?”

“The truth, always the truth.”

“Fabien, he is really upset. He is very close to breaking down and losing it. I am not sure he can handle the truth right now.”

“Let me tell it to him, then. I think he will be calmer if I tell him than if he hears it from you.”

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You are probably right on that.”

They went in to talk to Philippe.

Philippe looked up at Fabien. “What is happening out there?”

Fabien said, “Your mother has been drinking alcohol knowing she was on heart medication.”

“So she was drunk when she spoke to me? Doesn’t change a thing.”

“She has had a very bad reaction to the mixing of the alcohol and the medication. Her heart stopped beating and I had to give her CPR. The paramedics are here to take her to the hospital now.”

Philippe looked at the two of them—his eyes devoid of any emotion. “Did she die?”

“Technically, yes, her heart stopped. But as I said, I gave her CPR and her heart is beating again. Claudine says this could be very serious for her if she has damaged her heart.”

“The woman has no heart. Let me know when the paramedics have left. I will want to continue the party then.”

Fabien said, “As you wish,” and left Lorraine to deal with Philippe.

Lorraine asked, “Are you sure you want to continue with the party?”

“Yes, everybody is here, everything is arranged. We have food, the band, and our dance to do. I will not let her destroy our party. I want to have fun!”

Fabien stuck his head in and said, “They are gone. Louis went with her.”

Philippe got up, grabbed Lorraine’s hand and dragged him out the door.

Philippe addressed the crowd, “As you have just seen, my mother just went to the hospital. She had a bad reaction to her medication. She drank alcohol when she should not have. Naughty woman. But we are all here, there is food, a band—let’s have a party! I see there is still wine and punch over there. I think the dinner will be ready in just a bit. So, we have compiled this short video that you can see on those two screens—one on each side so everybody can see. It shows you a little of what Santorini was like. We have a small album of photos over there that we took—very small. We were too busy to take many pictures. They are mostly of us—please note the photo of me in a very beautiful purple chiffon gown.  I wore that to the Secret Restaurant set up in one of the old caves they stored their wine in. We had a private room and we had a ton of fun that night. Yes, we did. I got that pearl necklace with the amethyst in Santorini specially to wear with that gown. You can look at the photos at your leisure—or not. We don’t mind if you think vacation photos are boring. We think so, too. Start the video please.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMcSU7NTAPc>

After the video, Philippe and Lorraine went around the room talking to people and answering questions about Santorini. They made their way to the wine table and got two glasses of wine, then continued talking with their guests. A little later, the caterers let Philippe know the food was ready, so he called everyone outside to the tables. Once everyone was seated Philippe stood up and said, “You should all have a small short glass at your place setting. Please get it and let the waiters coming around fill it with ouzo. Of course, those who do not wish to drink, can have one of the waiters with the nonalcoholic lemonade fill your glass. When everybody’s glasses are filled, we will make a toast.”

When the waiters indicated everyone’s glass was filled, Philippe turned to Lorraine and kissed him softly, then turned to address his guests.  “This is a toast to love eternal. Without it, our lives are empty. With it, we can conquer the world! As the Greeks say, ‘Opa!’ ” Then he gulped his ouzo as everyone shouted after him and drank theirs. He turned then and kissed Lorraine again, very deeply while several in the yard did the same, including Fabien and Claudine. “Now, let’s eat and be merry! All the food is authentic Greek, so enjoy!” The waiters came out and served the appetizers, mashed fava beans or a Santorini salad with vegetables picked and flown in from Santorini that very day on Lorraine’s jet. One small detail Lorraine didn’t tell Philippe was that the jet had another cargo to pick up—Nicolas who was finally ready to start his modeling career.

If people were curious or had anything to say about Philippe’s mother, no one was voicing it. They were taking their cues from Philippe and Lorraine who seemed in the best of spirits and truly enjoying themselves.

The main course came. Each table was served a large platter of grilled seafood cut into smaller pieces, so everyone could have a sample. Additionally, a small wedge of octopus or squid was much more appetizing than the entire creature sitting on a plate—for those not used to such delicacies. It too, had been caught that morning and flown in on the jet. Side dishes included tomato cakes, sautéed zucchini, tomato and olive, or roasted eggplant topped with a tomato slice and fresh cheese. The entrée choices were pork souvlaka, lamb gyros and pita, or hand-made sausages in a tomato sauce.

Choices for dessert were baklava (baked cheese, phyllo and honey), or a fresh cheese pudding with fresh fruits and pomegranate seeds. Philippe’s favorite Vinsanto wine was served with dessert.

Both the white and the red wines were available—the waiters kept everyone’s glass full.  Philippe and Lorraine skipped dessert and slipped out to go change into their costumes. When people were just finishing their dessert, the band increased its volume and started a lively jig to get everyone’s attention. The band stopped, and the Greek instructor stood up and said, “I would like to introduce you to the most amusing and fun students I have had the pleasure to teach, Philippe and Lorraine, who will perform an authentic Greek folk dance. Well, the easiest parts. They had a little trouble tossing their partner in the air and catching them, so we took out that part—and a few other difficult parts. But it is still authentically Greek as is their costumes! And afterwards, be sure to ask them how they liked the tights!”

The band started up and Philippe and Lorraine began doing a prancing type step to the music. When they got to the center of their dance area they stopped and started doing some more difficult dance steps, arms around each other’s waist. Lorraine took a few prancing steps forward and then did a perfect twirl. He turned to face Philippe who did the same steps and twirl, accomplishing his as well. Then they faced the direction they had just come and did more prancing steps and a twirl with the two of them more or less in synch. Then they did some side steps going apart from each other but keeping their heads turned to watch each other, then did a twirl to get back together again. That time Lorraine wobbled at the end of the twirl and Philippe reached out to take him by the waist and steady him. With Philippe’s hand still on Lorraine’s waist they did a series of steps in a circle and then ended with a curtsy. The real dancers would have done a split, but that was far from their comfort zone or ability.

With the music ended, everyone clapped, shouted and whistled. Some yelling out, “Encore!” Both Philippe and Lorraine shook their heads “No” and left to go change out of their costumes.  It was finally time to open the presents. The table with the presents had been moved outside. Claudine had volunteered to keep track of the presents and had brought a journal to do so in. Fabien had agreed to take photos of each opened present with his phone tagging each with the name of the giver. Philippe and Lorraine agreed to take turns opening presents.  Leo had volunteered to hand them the presents. It turned out Philippe was a meticulous present opener while Lorraine tore into them with gusto.

They got all manner of presents. They received many very nice frames for their wedding photos. Claudine and Fabien had gotten them an individual wine bottle chiller. If they came home from work and had forgotten to put wine in to chill, all they had to do was put it in the chiller for ten minutes and it would be perfectly chilled to the temperature they chose. It had an automatic on and off feature that would keep the wine at that temperature for a period of time in case they got busy and didn’t get to it within ten minutes. Leo and his wife got them a set of six beautiful crystal wine glasses with “Philippe and Philippe” engraved on them. They received a nice silver serving tray. Someone made them a heart-shaped silk pillow with “Orleans and Lorraine” embroidered on it.

A co-worker and fellow gay gave them a rectangular sixteen-inch by twenty-inch pillow with a washable, waterproof cover. He had put a note inside that read “Butt pillow” that Philippe discreetly folded and put in his pocket after showing it to Lorraine. They both grinned at the co-worker as Philippe held it up and said, “Another very nice pillow with a washable cover in case we spill wine on it!”

When Philippe came to the gift Louis and his mother had given them, he pushed it aside and chose another. He had hoped he could just ignore it, but people noticed and rather than make a scene, he opened it last. It was two deep blue velvet bathrobes with their initials “PO” and “PL” embroidered in gold.

Philippe said, “Thank you all so much for your gifts. We will enjoy each and every one of them, and think of you as we use them. But the best gift you have all given us is your love, friendship, and understanding! I am sorry it took us so long to get to this party, but things have been hectic for Lorraine since we got back from our honeymoon. Lorraine has something he’d like to announce to all of you.”

Lorraine said, “As Philippe said, we appreciate your gifts and your friendship and love. As he also said, work has kept me intensely busy and I realized my company has grown too large for one person to handle alone. At this time, I would like to introduce House of Lorraine’s new Junior Partner, my long-time assistant and friend, Leo Martin! Leo, please stand up! He will be taking over day to day operations, so I can concentrate on designing and taking care of customers. A round of applause for Leo.”

Philippe interjected, “Now, maybe Lorraine won’t have to rush out the door at the crack of dawn and work until after the sun goes down! I hate that he comes home so wound up and worried about work.”

Lorraine answered, “Oh, but you are so good to me. He greets me at the door every night with a glass of wine and sits me down to talk about all the gripes of the day, then work worries are done and gone until I am on my way to work the next day. It really works. You should try it, if you haven’t. But Philippe is not for loan. He is mine and mine alone.” Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe softly.

Philippe said, “We have one final activity to do. It’s called the plate smashing dance only Lorraine said we couldn’t smash any plates inside. I tried and they won’t break out here on the grass—and Lorraine didn’t want glass in his garden, either. So, we have plates that we will raise over our heads and wave around but at the end we won’t break them. If you all will stand over here while the caterers remove the tables, picking up a plate as you do. Anyone who doesn’t want to participate can get a chair and go over there to sit. It’s not too strenuous of a dance and is very simple.”

After about five minutes, the tables were cleared, and Philippe was ready to proceed. “We are all going to make a circle put your left hand on the shoulder of the person next to you and hold the plate in your right. It is very simple. Take two steps sideways, stop then kick out with your right foot. Then we do two more steps sideways and kick with the right. As you do this follow my lead and wave your plate around like I do. At the end, as we are doing the last side steps, I will yell out ‘Opa.’ That will let you know that, as we do the last kick, we all yell out ‘Opa.’ That is when we would normally smash our plates, but Lorraine suggested we clap instead. Now, the catch is that this starts out slow and gets faster. We should try and follow the band, if we can! Are we all in position? Let’s do a couple of practice steps. Ready? Go! Side, side, kick! Side, side, kick, side, side, kick.” Philippe went very slowly to get them all used to the rhythm. Then Philippe stopped them and said, “Okay, now with the band on three, 1-2-3.” The band started slowly, and everyone caught on. Then the pace increased slightly. As each complete circle was made the band increased the speed of the song. Soon, people were falling out of the circle, getting lost. When it was down to six, Philippe gave the “Opa” to signal the last steps. Then the final “Opa” was shouted and they all followed Philippe who made a figure eight with his plate. The ironic thing is that Lorraine had only lasted half way through the dance and had tripped over his own two feet.

After the dance, Philippe went up behind Lorraine and whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Love, what is wrong with you tonight? You usually can dance circles around me.”

Lorraine leaned back against Philippe and said, “I think I have drunk a little too much wine, love.”

Philippe bent down and kissed the top of Lorraine’s head, “So, I see, love. It’s a good thing this is just about over, then.”

People said their goodbyes all raving about how much fun it was and how it felt like they were in Greece. Fabien and Claudine were the last to go. They showed them what they had done for the gifts. Fabien said he would send them a compilation of all the tagged presents the next day. They offered to help clean up, but Philippe assured them the caterers would take care of everything for them.

A little later everyone was gone, and it was just the two of them. Lorraine was very drunk, and Philippe realized there would be little sex that night. It was just as well. He really wasn’t in the mood for it anyway. He helped Lorraine undress and get in bed, then undressed himself and crawled in next to Lorraine. Lorraine rolled over and threw his leg over Philippe and gave him a sloppy kiss.

“Love, think I drunk too mush wine,” Lorraine slurred. “Room is shpinning.”

Philippe kissed Lorraine tenderly. “It is okay love, just lay your head down and be still. Close your eyes.”

Lorraine did as he was told. Philippe looked at him tenderly then realized he had either passed out or was asleep. Philippe stroked his hair tenderly and kissed his cheek. He was drained from the events of the night and ready to sleep. He rolled half onto Lorraine, putting his arm and leg over him and fell asleep.

It was about three in the morning when Lorraine was brought out of his wine stupor by a thrashing Philippe. He was groggy and not sure what was happening. He started to sit up when Philippe’s elbow caught him in the face just above his cheek, knocking him back down on the bed. Lorraine clutched his face in pain saying, “Damn, Philippe, wake up!” He carefully sat up avoiding Philippe’s flailing arms and managed to grab both and hold Philippe still for a few moments. Philippe began to struggle and fight him. Lorraine tried to whisper in his ear, “Love, it is all right. It is me, Lorraine,” but Philippe struggled and cried out, “No! No! I will not let you! Stop! NO!”

Lorraine rolled on top of Philippe to hold him still and Philippe started whimpering and crying, “Please, don’t do it. Not tonight. Please don’t,” then started a pathetic low, keening sound somewhat like what a small child might do when in distress.

Lorraine tried whispering to Philippe that it was okay, that he was safe, but Philippe suddenly raised up and pushed Lorraine violently off him saying, “I said get off me!”

Lorraine had almost been knocked off the bed and decided the safest thing was to roll off the bed out of Philippe’s reach. Philippe was sitting up now and looking around him, slowly realizing where he was. He had a stunned look about his face as he looked around and took in his surroundings.

“Lorraine? Lorraine, where are you?”

Lorraine raised his head to look at Philippe from the edge of the bed, ready to duck if needed. “I am here, love. Are you awake now?”

Philippe looked at Lorraine’s face just peeking over the edge of the bed. “What are you doing down there? And what happened to your face?”

Lorraine realized he had a small cut just under his eye where Philippe’s elbow had caught him. The cut was bleeding a little. “Oh, it’s nothing. My face just got in the way of your elbow. Forgot to duck.” Lorraine stood up and was contemplating if it was safe to get back in bed.

“I did that to you? Oh, god, I am so sorry.” Philippe slid across the bed and Lorraine instinctively stepped backward. “Don’t be afraid of me, love. I won’t hurt you, now.” Philippe got up and went over to Lorraine and gently touched his face. “Let’s go to the bathroom so I can wash the blood away.”

Philippe gently put his arm around Lorraine’s waist and pushed him towards the bathroom. When Lorraine looked in the mirror, he was shocked. “Oh dear, I think I am going to get a black eye!”

“I am so, so sorry, love!”

“No, it was my fault for not paying attention. I was still in a stupor from the wine. May I ask what you were dreaming?”

“It is all my damned mother’s fault. I was a child being abused again.”

“Well, you certainly were fighting hard, love. What exactly did you two talk about? You know, you have never told me what happened to you.”

Philippe sighed and said, “I don’t feel up to it tonight. I will tell you sometime when I am in a better frame of mind.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe gently on the lips. “Whenever you are ready, I will listen, love. Now let’s go back to bed and get some sleep.”

“What are you going to tell people tomorrow about your black eye?”

“That I was drunk and ran into a door. It’s almost the truth.”

“I can’t believe I hurt you! Of all the people in this world, you are the one person I would not ever want to hurt!”

“I know that love. Let’s go back to sleep.”

They went back in and lay down together. Philippe gently stroked Lorraine’s face, then kissed him softly. They snuggled and after a bit, both were asleep. There were no more bad dreams that night.

 


	58. Bruised Faces and Egos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe is wracked with guilt over accidentally hitting Lorraine in the face with his elbow. He doesn't want to tell Lorraine the things he told his mother about his childhood and is feeling very down. Hung over and with a throbbing face, Lorraine calls Leo to take the day off.

When Lorraine woke the next morning, he noticed Philippe was on the other side of the bed with his back to him. The next thing he noticed was the throbbing of his cheek and eye socket, then the headache he had from the wine. Of course, Philippe was afraid he’d have another nightmare and possibly hurt him again, so he had moved away from him. He looked at the clock. He had awakened thirty minutes before the alarm was to go off. Not enough time to go back to sleep. He scooted across the bed to Philippe. He gently pushed aside Philippe’s hair and kissed him on the neck. He put his arm around Philippe and pushed his body against Philippe’s.

He whispered into Philippe’s ear, “Wake up, love.” He hugged Philippe and kissed him again. Philippe started to stir. Lorraine whispered, “Morning love. I’m awake early and we have time to enjoy each other.”

Philippe rolled over and opened his eyes to look at Lorraine. When he saw Lorraine’s cut cheek and swollen and black eye, his face fell. “Oh, I am so sorry! Does your face hurt?”

“Not as bad as my head from too much wine. If I had not been drunk, I would have known to duck and would not have gotten hit. You see, it is my fault I got hit, not yours.”  Lorraine leaned in to kiss Philippe softly. “We have some time this morning to enjoy each other a little before I have to go to work.”

Lorraine’s hand stroked Philippe’s face before he kissed him. His hand went to Philippe’s waist and pushed his body against Philippe’s. His lips moved down to Philippe’s neck as his hands slid down Philippe’s body. He rolled on top of Philippe and kissed him again. His hands felt Philippe’s silky-smooth skin and felt the muscle and bone beneath the warm skin. He ran his fingers very lightly over the skin on Philippe’s side and felt the goosebumps rise under his fingers.

“Stop tickling.”

“My, aren’t we sensitive this morning!”

They kissed again—a long, fire-filled kiss, their bodies writhing against each other.

Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Philippe, I love you. It is that simple.”

Philippe didn’t answer, but instead grabbed Lorraine’s head and kissed him again. He tried to roll Lorraine over, so he could be on top, but Lorraine resisted and remained on top.

“No, love, let me bring you pleasure this morning,” Lorraine said softly.

“But I don’t want it.”

Lorraine rose up to look at Philippe. “You don’t want it? Why not?”

“Not this morning. The dream. I just can’t.”

“I will be gentle, love.”

“No. Please, let me on top.”

Lorraine looked into Philippe’s stricken face. He rolled off Philippe. “Yes, love, whatever you want.”

Philippe climbed on top of Lorraine and kissed him lovingly. He ran his fingers lightly over Lorraine’s face avoiding the cut cheek and bruised eye. Tears moistened his eyes as he looked at Lorraine. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered more to himself than to Lorraine. “I love you so much.” He kissed Lorraine as his hands moved to Lorraine’s chest and played in his chest hair. He worked his hands down Lorraine’s body to Lorraine’s cock and gently wrapped around it. Lorraine moaned. Philippe’s mouth sucked on Lorraine’s silky neck as his hands worked. Philippe slid down Lorraine’s body. His mouth closed over Lorraine’s cock and took over from his hands. Lorraine was moaning now, the anticipation growing. Lorraine dug his hands into the sheets. His head was back, his mouth open, but he uttered no words—until release came.

“Oh god, Philippe! Oh, god!” Lorraine uttered a long, deep moan as his body shuddered. Finally, his body slumped as he breathed heavily. His hands reached down to gently pull Philippe’s face up to his and kissed him tenderly. “God, yes, my love, oh, thank you. You are so good at that.”

Philippe mumbled, “At least I am good at something.”

Lorraine answered, “Don’t do this to yourself, love. Please. You know that is not true.” Lorraine kissed him tenderly again and put his arms around him to hug him and hold him tight. They lay that way for a long while—their hearts beating in synchronicity, bare skin against bare skin.

The annoying buzz of the alarm clock interrupted their peace. Philippe started to get up, but Lorraine held him tight. “Just a little longer, love.” Philippe relaxed and rested his head on Lorraine’s chest.  Lorraine felt the wetness of Philippe’s tears on his bare chest. He stroked Philippe’s head and ran his fingers through his dark, curly hair. Lorraine had no idea what to say to Philippe. He was afraid anything he said would only make things worse.

Instead, he decided to make small talk and asked, “What are you going to do today?”

Philippe mumbled, “Get thank you notes and start on them.”

“Aren’t we going to do those together?”

“Yes. I am just going to fill out addresses and put them with the gifts so tonight we can fill out the notes together.”

“Oh! That is great thinking! You have done such a magnificent job on this present opening party. It was so much fun.”

“Except for the part where I killed my mother.”

“Philippe, she is not dead. Louis would have called. And she did that to herself by drinking against her doctor’s orders.”

“But I precipitated it with our argument. But the sad thing is I don’t really care one way or the other if she is dead. It is like when you are passing by an accident and see someone being put in an ambulance. You don’t know that person, but you have a moment of sadness to see anyone hurt. Then you go on about your life and the fate of that accident victim is pushed away and is of no importance anymore.”

“Philippe, would you like to talk to me tonight about the things you told your mother?”

“No, I don’t want to talk to you about it. I don’t want you to know.”

“But, love, you must know I won’t judge you. Nothing you tell me could make me not love you or love you less. And, if you don’t talk about it, the nightmares could continue.”

Philippe did not answer.

Lorraine stroked Philippe’s hair. “It is okay, love. I don’t have to know until you are ready to tell me.”

Philippe’s answer was, “Shouldn’t you get ready for work? You are going to be late.”

“You forget I am the boss.”

“But bosses should set an example for their workers. Being late is not a good example.” Philippe rolled off Lorraine and got out of bed to go into the bathroom. Lorraine sighed as he watched Philippe leave the room. He hated to see Philippe suffering this way, but he did have to go to work. He still had a lot to show Leo in his new job as Junior Partner. The sooner he handed things over to Leo, the sooner the burden would be lifted from him and he could spend more time with Philippe.

Lorraine got up and followed Philippe into the bathroom. When Lorraine saw his face in the mirror he couldn’t help but gasp. No wonder Philippe felt so bad. His eye was black and blue and swollen as was his cheek. The cut was a little larger than he had expected. No amount of makeup was going to cover this up completely.  He took a cloth and tried to gently wash the area, but it was painful to touch. He saw the anguished look on Philippe’s face. “Love, it doesn’t hurt. Much. A little makeup will make it disappear,” he lied. The truth was that he felt like hell. His head hurt from too much wine and his face was starting to throb.

He made the decision then. He was going to stay home. He went back in to the bedroom to call Leo and told him he had had a small accident and was in pain. He had decided to stay home but would be by his phone if Leo needed him for anything. He showed Leo his face.

“How did that happen? You and Philippe did not have a fight, did you? I know he was pretty upset at the party before his mother left.”

“No, we did not have a fight.”  Lorraine hesitated before he went on. Better to be honest with Leo. “Philippe had a bad dream and was flailing about. I woke up and tried to sit up and was hit in the face by his elbow. I was groggy from the wine I drank and too slow to react. The truth is, between this shiner and the wine I drank, my head and face are throbbing. Plus, Philippe is in a delicate state of mind after the fight and his dream. I want to be home with him. Do you think you can handle things for me?”

“Yes, of course.  What do you want me to tell people about why you are not here?”

“Tell them I had a fender-bender on the way to work and am a little banged up and am taking the day off.”

“Okay. That sounds plausible and will help explain your face when you do come back to work.”

“If you need me for anything, just call.”

They hung up. Lorraine went into the kitchen to get a sports drink and some painkillers. He decided to take a Vicodin because his face was hurting that much. Then he went back to the bedroom and crawled into bed. Philippe came in from the bathroom and looked at him, puzzled.

“You are going to be late. Why are you back in bed?”

“Because I am taking the day off and want to sleep. Will you join me?”

“No, I have things to do.”

“Can’t they wait? We can just cuddle and sleep, if that is what you want.”

“What I want is for you to go to work so I can be alone for a while.”

That hurt Lorraine, but he tried not to show it. “Well, I am just going to sleep for a while. You can go do what you want. I won’t bother you.”

Philippe just looked at Lorraine without answering before finally saying, “As you wish.” Philippe turned and started dressing.

Lorraine turned to his side, pulled the sheet over him and closed his eyes. He didn’t know what else to do. He laid there with his eyes closed and listened to Philippe dress. Then he heard Philippe leave the bedroom and heard him calling a car. A little later he heard the front door close and the lock turn from the outside. Lorraine felt despair at the coldness Philippe was showing him but told himself Philippe just needed time to come to terms with the fight with his mother. The last thing he thought before he drifted off into Vicodin-assisted sleep, was that he should call Louis to see how Philippe’s mother was.

A little later, Lorraine could not say exactly how much later, he felt Philippe crawl into bed. Philippe snuggled up to him and put his arms around him, kissing his neck. Lorraine drifted back into sleep. He started to smile and winced at the pain. Some things were going to take a little time to heal.

 


	59. Philippe Begins the Story of His Childhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe tells Lorraine about his earliest memories as a child and the abuse he suffered. It is worse than Lorraine could have ever imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Contains graphic details of Sexual and Physical Child Abuse experienced by a main character.

Lorraine woke up shortly before noon. He was alone in the bed. He laid there and listened, then heard someone scraping a chair on the floor in the other room. Philippe must be at the table putting the addresses on the thank-you notes. Lorraine crawled out of bed and got his robe from the closet. He put it on but didn’t bother to put the belt on. He went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and gently washed his face. He walked into the living room and saw that Philippe was at the table addressing the thank-you notes as he had suspected.

When Philippe heard him walking across the living room, he turned and said, “You should put some ice on your cheek and eye. I got the ice pack out. It is on the kitchen counter.”

“Thank you.” Lorraine walked into the kitchen and put ice in the pack and got himself some water to drink. His throat was very dry, and he knew he was dehydrated from the wine he had drunk. He went out and sat at the table next to Philippe.

“Any idea how long I am supposed to put this on?”

“I think about ten minutes at a time or until your skin starts to feel too cold.”

Lorraine put the pack up against his eye. The cold made him wince as did the pressure of the pack against his bruised skin. “Damn, that’s cold. Did Fabien send you the compilation of the gifts with the names of those who gave them?”

“Yes, just a little while ago. You were asleep, so I decided to go ahead and get started. You can go back to bed if you want. I don’t need you for this part.”

“My head is still throbbing, but I am afraid if I lay down I might fall asleep with this ice pack on. Don’t want to add frostbite to my injuries.”

“No,  I’ve done enough damage, already.”

The comment tore at Lorraine. When would Philippe forgive himself for something that was just an accident? Lorraine did not like this petulant side of Philippe. But confronting him about it would only make it worse. Lorraine sat there with the ice pack on watching Philippe addressing envelopes.

“It was a wonderful party, love. You did such a great job organizing it. It made me feel like I was back in Greece.”

“It didn’t start out so well. I gave my mother a heart attack. But once she and Louis were gone to the hospital, it was a lot of fun,” he answered sarcastically.

“You know you didn’t give her a heart attack. She had complications from mixing alcohol with her medication. She did it to herself.”

“I shocked her into it by the things I told her.”

“And what were those things you told her that shocked her?”

Philippe stopped writing and put the pen down. He turned to look at Lorraine anger in his face. “I told you I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Love, you need to talk about it. Otherwise you are going to have more nightmares.”

“Then maybe you should sleep in another room, so I don’t hurt you. On second thought I will sleep in another room.  It’s only fair.”

“I don’t want to sleep in another bed. I want to sleep with you. I want to hold you at night and comfort you. I want you to comfort me.”

“There is no comfort for me.”

“You are putting walls up between us and that hurts me more than this swollen face, love. It hurts me deeply.” Lorraine looked at Philippe with real anguish showing on his face.

Philippe looked at him without expression as he studied Lorraine’s face. The stoniness gave way to sadness. “Love, I can’t,” he answered in the softest most agonized voice. “Don’t ask this of me.”

“But I must, love. For the love I have for you and the love you have for me. Tell me how this all started. Only that. The rest can come when you are ready.”

“Maybe we should drink some wine first.”

“Yes, I will get us some wine. We can finish the thank you notes later. Do you want red or white?”

“Some of the red left over from the party.”

Lorraine jumped up to get the wine and two glasses. The last thing he felt like was drinking more wine, but how he felt was not important right now. He came back with two glasses and an almost full bottle of the Atlantis Red.

“Let’s go sit on the couch, love. It is more comfortable there.”

Philippe followed Lorraine over to the couch. While in the kitchen, Lorraine had flipped on the fireplace to display only, no heat. He knew how Philippe loved to stare into those dancing flames.

They sat on the couch and Lorraine poured a glass of wine and handed it to Philippe who took a long swallow. Lorraine poured some wine into his own glass but planned to sip it very slowly. He put his hand on Philippe’s and waited patiently.

Philippe stared at the fire and took several long drinks of wine before he cleared his throat and said, “My earliest memories are of when I was about six. I was in an orphanage with many other children. We slept on folding cots that were taken up during the day. Rows and rows of cots. We ate tasteless food three times a day. Cereal in the morning, sandwiches made with a disgusting meat between two pieces of stale bread for lunch and a watery stew in the evening. Nuns volunteered during the day and were mostly kind but very strict. No boisterous play except during our two thirty-minute breaks a day outside in a grassy courtyard where we could throw a ball and chase each other. At the time I didn’t realize how good I had it. I had food, a roof over my head and a place to sleep. The nuns were strict but kind.”

“Is this what you told your mother?”

“No, I started a little later in my story. I am telling you this because I want you to understand how hard it was for me what happened next. There was always talk between us boys of being adopted. We noticed that most of the children being picked out were younger than us. The older boys taunted us and told us if we weren’t adopted in the next year, then we would never be adopted. They knew that from experience.”

“Imagine my happiness when a man and woman came in and, after looking all of us over carefully, picked a handful of us—all boys— for further inspection and interviewing.  I was one of the lucky ones.  In the interview, the man did all the talking. The woman stood mutely behind him a forced smile on her face as she looked at us. I was very nervous and answered mostly ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no sir’ to his questions. I don’t even remember what the questions were, I was so scared. The man’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes weren’t. There was a darkness in them that truly frightened me.”

“After the interview we were all sent to a room where we were not allowed to talk. We silently waited to see which of us would be picked. When the nun came in and called my name I was stunned. I was told to go pack my few personal belongings, that I would be going home with them that very day. The nun said, however, that it wasn’t an adoption but a fostering. I did not know what that was, and she explained that it was a temporary arrangement. They would get paid money for providing me a home and, if after a while, they really liked me, they  might consider adopting me. It was very important for me to be as obedient as I could and please them—to give them no reason to send me back to the orphanage.”

“I had very few personal belongings, my birth certificate and a crude friendship bracelet woven out of found string given to me by the only friend I had ever had before he had been adopted. He had promised to contact me, but never had. I had not really expected him to. We all knew when someone left, we never heard from them again. That was just the way of it. The nuns gave me the clothes I was wearing and that was it. They led me out to where the man and woman were waiting and pushed me towards them. The man took my hand and led me from the building. We got into a beat-up old car and drove to a small ramshackle house on a street lined on both sides by ramshackle houses. It was obvious they were not very well off, but who was I to be choosy?”

“When the man called me Phil, I corrected him and said that I preferred to be called Philippe. He ignored me and continued to call me Phil. I decided to let the matter drop. I was led to a small room with a small bed, a chair, and a chest in it. The room was painted blue and had a strip of paper plastered at my height around the entire room. Colorful balloons were on the paper. There were two framed photos of two puppies on the wall. I could not believe my good fortune! I had my own room and a real bed to sleep in. I loved the color of the room and the decorations.”

“I thanked the man profusely, but he ignored me. He told me to call him Al and his wife Karen.  He said they would get me some clothes the next day. It was late in the day and almost supper time. The woman had left a pot of stew on the stove that was filling the house with wonderful aromas. She went into the kitchen to cook something else as the man showed me around the house and told me that the other bedrooms were off limits to me. If I snooped into them in any way, I would get a beating.  I stammered that I would never go near them and that I would obey his rules. Then he took me into my room and went into the small closet. He brought out a box that had pictures of soldiers on it. He handed it to me saying it was something to keep me occupied. I opened it and it was a complete set of small plastic soldiers with cannons, tanks and jeeps and a fold out map to place them on. There were tears in my eyes at I looked at the fantastic gift. I had never had anything so wonderful! I thanked him again and he told me I could play in my room until I was called for supper.”

“I took the time to open the box and inspect all the small figures and equipment that were in the box. Reluctantly, I answered the call to supper. We sat down at a small table and the woman made us bow our heads as she said a prayer in thanks for the food we were about to eat. The stew was made with chicken, carrots and potatoes and she had made cornbread to go with it. I even had a small glass of milk to drink with it. It was the best meal I had ever eaten. I told her how very good it was and how thankful I was that they had chosen me. I was puzzled when she only gave me a slight smile. I worried that maybe she had not wanted a child, but her husband had. I could tell she was not a happy person.”

“After supper I helped her clean the table and she showed me how to dry the dishes she washed. I was glad to be of some use. I was sent to my room to play with my soldiers for a while, which I did happily. A little later the man came in and said it was time for me to take a bath and get ready for bed. He led me to the bathroom where he had drawn a tub of warm water for me. When he undressed me, I felt a little uncomfortable under his glare but was used to being naked at the orphanage with the other boys in the shower.”

“He then remarked that I was a lot skinnier than I had looked with my clothes on. I thought that was a strange remark for him to make but kept it to myself. When he told me to get in the tub I did as I was asked. He took a rag and rubbed soap in it then proceeded to roughly wash me down. He rubbed my skin with the cloth until it hurt saying under his breath something about getting rid of the stench of the orphanage.  I dared not complain. He put soap in my hair and washed it—I had to hold my eyes closed very tightly to keep soap from getting in them. He scrubbed my ears, face and neck. Then when he came to my genital area, he was very attentive and gentle. I was relieved he wasn’t as rough there as he had been with the rest of my body. He turned me around and very thoroughly scrubbed my butt cheeks, parting them to scrub between them and ensure every inch of me was clean. When he was sure I was clean he told me to get out and he dried me off. He helped me put on a pair of soft cotton pajamas that were two sizes too big, but again I did not complain.”

“He took me into my bedroom and closed the door behind him. He stood there just staring at me for a good while, like he was trying to make his mind up about something. I looked into his face trying to figure out what he wanted. I saw the change in his eyes as he made up his mind. His brown eyes narrowed and turned darker as he reached down and took off my pajama top then pulled down the bottoms and told me to step out of them. I was confused but did as he said. Again, he said, ‘Too damned skinny,’ as he looked at me.”

Philippe stopped to take several long drinks of his wine and stared into the fire. Lorraine was afraid of what was coming next, although he had an idea. He squeezed Philippe’s hand and gave him whatever time he needed to go on with his story.

Philippe reached over and filled his wine glass and emptied half of it before, finally, continuing. “He picked me up and sat me on the edge of the bed. He pushed my legs apart and grabbed my small child’s prick. He asked me if I had ever played with it, if I had ever made it stiff then rubbed it until I felt pleasure. The nuns had told us that was a mortal sin. Of course, we were just boys and when one of us told us what he had done, the rest of us had to try it. But I lied to him and said that I had not done that and about how the nuns told us it was a sin. He laughed. He could tell from my face I was lying.”

“He then said, ‘Let me show you how it is done, then, since you have not discovered this pleasure.’ I wanted to shout at him that I had lied, and I knew already, but was afraid to speak.  I was mortified as his fingers made my little prick stiffen and stand up. But I was not at all ready for what he did next. He put his mouth on it and began sucking. It only took a minute or two before I felt a brief moment of pleasure and it deflated. Overriding that moment of pleasure was an overwhelming shame for what had happened. I started crying. That was when he struck me hard on the side of the face and said, ‘There will be no crying, or I will beat you until you cannot stand.’ I saw stars and almost blacked out from the force of the hit. I wanted to cry more, but I stifled my cries for fear of what he would do to me. His eyes were black now as he stared at me.”

“I was afraid to look him in the eye and looked down until I heard a noise. It was the unbuckling of his belt and I feared he was going to beat me with it. Then I heard the sound of a zipper. Still, I was too afraid to look at him and kept my head down. He told me calmly, ‘Look up and see what a man looks like.’ I hesitated, and he said more fiercely, ‘I said look up, brat!’ I looked up and saw he had undone his pants and pulled them down to expose his own man-sized cock. I had never seen a man’s before and I just gaped at it in fear and disgust. He walked over to me and grabbed my head and pushed it down to that monstrosity and told me, ‘Now suck on it with your child’s mouth. Make it come to life, brat, and if I feel teeth, I will knock you against the wall.’”

Philippe stopped and drank more wine. Lorraine put his arm around him and hugged him. “Love, you are safe with me. I won’t judge.”

They sat for a while before Philippe continued in a strained voice and tears welling in his eyes. “I gagged several times as he made me suck him, then he got impatient and pushed my face away and began stroking himself, making the monstrosity come to life. I cowered on the bed not sure what was going to happen next. Once he was hard he told me, ‘Now that’s a man’s cock. If you are lucky one day you will have one that is half my size.’ I just stared at it in disgust and fear. I knew something awful was going to happen but had no idea what.”

“His next words were, ‘Now I will teach you what this is for.’ He grabbed me and flipped me over onto my face and stomach. I cried out in fear and he slapped my butt so hard it stung. ‘I said no crying!’ His voice was hard and full of menace. I clamped my mouth shut and closed my eyes. I felt him grab my hips with both hands and pull my bottom half to my knees. Then I felt his cock pushing against my buttocks and had a second to wonder what he was doing before I felt the excruciating pain as he penetrated me. I screamed, and he laughed. ‘Yes, scream! I like that.’”

“He took no care to be gentle or take it slow. I screamed with each thrust and yelled, ‘Please stop, you’re hurting me!’ His answer was ‘Yes, brat, I want it to hurt you, scream more!’ The more I screamed, the deeper and faster he went. I was close to passing out with pain and thought it would never stop when I heard his grunts and a final long drawn out groan. He had stopped and was just holding me with him still inside me. Then with a final grunt he pushed me off him and onto the bed. I felt something sticky trickling down my legs and had no idea what it was. His last words to me after he pulled up his pants were, ‘Too damned skinny!’ He turned and left, shutting the door behind him.”

“I laid there crumpled on the bed afraid to move. I felt pain like I had never felt before. I finally reached down with my hand and wiped at whatever was trickling down my legs and looked at it. It was blood mixed with some white looking liquid.”

Philippe stopped talking, and Lorraine felt him starting to sob. Lorraine put both arms around him and drew him in. “Cry, love, if that is what you want to do. Cry for the innocent young boy you were and the unforgivable things that were done to you.”

But Philippe stifled his sobs and said hesitantly, “That wasn’t the end of it.”

Lorraine answered, “Then continue, only if you want.”

“I have to tell you it all. Later that night, the woman brought a pan of water, some cloths and a towel and told me to clean myself up. She knew what had happened—had known what was going to happen yet, did nothing. I spent the next week in that room. She brought food for me and some new clothes that she hung in the closet as well as a pair of new pajamas that fit me. I was miserable and didn’t care. The thing was, at night, I would hear her screaming and crying, and hear slaps and thuds. She was a victim, too.”

“I spent the time sleeping or staring at the wall. I could not bear to look at the soldiers I had set up in the corner. I wanted to go back to the orphanage so desperately. He left me alone for that week and part of the next. When I was sure he was at work I would come out and go into the kitchen to ask for some water. One time when she wasn’t in there, I went through the drawers and found a knife.  It was a dull steak knife, but I saw it as a weapon to protect myself. I knew he would be back as soon as he thought I was healed enough.”

“Sure enough, at the end of the second week, he came into my bedroom at night and dragged me into the bathroom where he had drawn a bath for me. He told me to bathe myself as he watched. I was very careful to bathe every part of me, so he would not feel the need to do so. I knew what was coming next and was shaking in fear. ‘Yes, the little brat knows what is coming, he shakes in fear of me.’ He laughed. I realized the shaking was good. It led him into a false sense of security, so I cowed and acted deadly afraid of him, as I plotted what I would do when we got to my bedroom—planned when I would grab the knife under my pillow and use it.”

“His actions were almost the same as the first time. He undressed me and put me on the bed and used his fingers on my child’s prick. I leaned back and reached under the pillow. I put my hand around the knife and pulled it behind me—he didn’t see because all his attention was on what he was doing. When he knelt to suck me, that is when I struck. I rammed the knife up into what I thought was where his heart was as hard as I could. I missed his heart but did manage to sink the knife in for more than an inch just below his collarbone. He let out a howl of pain and reeled back grabbing at the knife sticking out of him. He yanked it out and blood poured out of the wound. I watched in horror realizing I had only just wounded him. His reaction was swift and brutal. His closed fist hit me in the chest and I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me. The next blow knocked me against the wall. Then he took off his belt and started beating me with it swinging it with such force it cut into my skin and left bleeding gashes and whelps on me. I noticed his blows were getting weaker and saw that he was staggering. There was blood flowing down his shirt and pants onto the floor. There was a very large puddle of it on the floor, growing larger by the minute. He slipped on the blood and almost fell. He stopped beating me and went into the living room to yell at his wife to call an ambulance then passed out on the floor.”

“She did as she was told then came to my room and took a good look at me, checking my injuries with a rough hand. She pushed me back onto the bed and hissed at me to stay in my room and not make a sound. She went back in the living room until the medics came. When they asked who had attacked her husband, she told them the ungrateful brat they had taken in as a foster child. They called the police and when they arrived, I heard her telling them lies about what an unruly child I was. I had the sense to retrieve my small package of meager belongings and clutched them to me as I sat on the bed waiting. She showed them the bruises that _he_ had given her and said that I had done this to her when she tried to reprimand me. She said that I had acted like a crazed demon and had attacked her husband stabbing him with a knife and he had no choice but to defend himself. She told them to take me and that they never wanted to see me again. They came into the bedroom and saw the pitiful shape I was in but still dragged me out by the arm clutching my package and put me into the back of the patrol car. They brought me to a youth detention center for the night, then I was brought back to the orphanage the next day. The fact that I had attacked a foster care giver went into my record and that sealed my fate of never being adopted and kept good foster families from considering me. Those are my first memories as a child. It only gets worse from there.”

Philippe drained his glass and sat there silently. Lorraine wrapped his arms around him and kissed him softly. Philippe answered with, “That was the nightmare I was having when I hit you—the only person who has truly loved me.” Then he started sobbing. Lorraine hugged him gently and held him tightly until he stopped crying.

Philippe finally looked up into Lorraine’s face. He very gently touched the side of Lorraine’s face that wasn’t bruised. “I am so very sorry to have hurt you, love.”

Lorraine replied, “My face will heal. But it is you I am worried about. You have known such cruelty and it has left a scar on your heart and in your mind. I only hope my love is enough to erase the pain, but I know you will never forget.”

Philippe answered Lorraine with a frantic, urgent kiss. “Please protect me—heal me,” Philippe whispered as he kissed Lorraine again, his hands caressing the body he so loved. “Take me to the bedroom and show me your healing love. I need you desperately. I need to be loved.”

Lorraine stood, took Philippe by the waist and led him to the bedroom. They were soon naked in a deep embrace and kiss. After the kiss, Lorraine gently pushed Philippe onto the bed and said, “Shall I see if I can do to you what you did to me the other morning?”

“Yes, love. Do with me whatever you want. I belong to you and only you.”

Lorraine smiled and said, “Let’s see if I can do this right.”

A while later, as Lorraine saw Philippe writhing in multiple orgasms and, as Lorraine himself allowed his own release to wash over him, Philippe’s legs draped over his shoulders, he knew they had replicated that special something that had happened to him previously. He had vague thoughts of researching what that special something was, but for now he was content to lay down beside Philippe and feel the contentment that their bodies entwined around each other brought him. Philippe clung tightly to Lorraine as he drifted off into sleep. Lorraine could only hope Philippe felt the same contentment as he did.

 


	60. More of Philippe's Childhood and a Man Named Harry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe continues telling Lorraine the story of his childhood relating that he never allowed anyone to rape him again, but admitting that he wound up on the streets at thirteen and had to prostitute himself to survive but it was always on his own terms. Philippe recounts how he fell in with a group of street kids led by an older boy named Dan who showed the other kids how to survive on the streets. Just when Philippe felt there was no future for him and he was dead inside, Philippe tells Lorraine about a special man who took him in and saved his soul, so to speak. This man, Harry, although far from perfect, showed Philippe what love could be like, educated him and gave him a vision and hope for an actual future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: The story deals with teenage prostitution and the harsh realities of life on the streets.

Hunger woke Lorraine in the very late afternoon. He had his arms wrapped protectively around Philippe who still slept. He thought back to the terrible things Philippe had told him about his earliest memories. How could someone do such things to a child? And Philippe had indicated that it only got worse from there. Lorraine shuddered to think what else Philippe might tell him. But he had to show Philippe only love and acceptance when he revealed these things. Lorraine’s face was throbbing, and he knew he had not been as diligent as he should have been at applying ice to his injury. He was paying for it now. He gently tried to remove his arms from around Philippe, so he could get up, but the movement woke Philippe.

A groggy Philippe asked, “Where are you going?”

“I need to put ice on my face and I am hungry. Have you eaten anything today? I haven’t.”

“No.  I wasn’t hungry, but I am now. I’ll get up with you and we can get something to eat. I also want to tell you more. I _need_ to tell you more. I want you to understand.”

“Understand? Understand what, love?”

“Why I am the way I am.”

“But I do understand. I know sometimes you need your space. That you can be moody and petulant. But I also know your great capacity for love. That you can be happy and excited. The way you have taken care of me these last few weeks has been wonderful. How you’ve greeted me at the door and listened to my complaints.  How you’ve given me your love and pushed all the worries away.”

“Yes, but there are things inside me I want you to know about. Maybe if you understand them, it will help _me_ understand them. I won’t have to struggle so hard to keep them buried—to keep the anger I have from popping up at the worst times. I want the anger to go away. I think you can help me accomplish that.”

“Yes, love. I will listen, and I will do everything I can to help us both understand. Now, shall we get something to eat before we both pass out from hunger?”

They got up, refreshed themselves, and dressed in sweats and tee shirts. In the kitchen, Lorraine filled the pack up with ice and held it to his face while they rummaged through the fridge. They had their pick of a wide variety of leftovers from the party. They settled on heating up a couple of tomato cakes and some lamb to put in pita bread, and eating the sautéed zucchini, tomato, and olive as a cold salad. Philippe opened another bottle of the Atlantis Red.

After they ate, Philippe asked, “May I continue my story now?”

“Yes, let’s go over to the couch. I’ll bring the wine, you get the glasses.”

When they were settled, Philippe cleared his throat and began again. “It is important to me that you know that no one ever did that to me again without my consent. At the next foster home, the man came into my room at night and I knew what he wanted. I started screaming and he hit me. But I fought and struggled no matter how many times he hit me. He held my hands with one hand and pushed me onto the bed face first, so I kicked him with my legs. I screamed and refused to stop squirming and fighting. At some point he thought I would just give up and let him have his way, but I didn’t.  I would have rather died than to give up. In fact, a part of me wanted him to kill me so I would be free from this torture. He gave up and sent me back to the orphanage the next day. I learned to find things to use as weapons that I would hide under my pillow. Sticks from outside, forks from the table. Anything I could grasp in my small hands and use as a club or weapon. Each time I went to a new home, I waited to see what it was going to be like, hoping that it would be a tolerable one. I didn’t expect to be loved. I just wanted a place where I had a roof over my head, any type of bed even a blanket on the floor, and edible food in a quantity to keep me from starving. I didn’t mind doing work—I liked it. It made me feel useful. I didn’t expect kindness, but I did not tolerate beatings or attempted rape without a fight—I fought with everything I had because I would rather die than to submit.”

“I guess it was my perceived frailty that attracted the wrong kind of people to me. I was a little tall for my age, but very skinny. My curly hair, blue eyes and full lips also seemed to attract them. Several told me that I looked like the perfect little angel or called me cherubic. They usually wound up calling me demonic, crazed, insane and whatever after I fought them.”

“In one home, there were six of us fosterlings. I was the youngest. The older boys taught me all the worst curse words to use, the most vile and vulgar language mostly related to body parts and the sex act. Half of which I really had no understanding of, but if it would make adults recoil in disgust, then I’d use them if I felt threatened. The place met my needs except it was one of the older boys who decided to try and seduce me. We all slept on pallets on the floor of our bedroom and it was common for us to snuggle with each other for comfort and warmth. I never had trusted him and avoided being anywhere close to him, but one night I woke up and he had pushed his way in beside me. He had his arms around me, but he was doing more than cuddling. I felt him pressing his body against me and could feel his stiff prick poking at me through his pajamas. When his hands went inside my pajama bottoms, I began struggling to get free.”

“I told him I would start screaming if he didn’t let go of me and he tried to convince me that he could show me a pleasure I had never had. I started screaming and the man of the household came in and demanded to know what was going on. I used the words they had taught me and said, ‘He is trying to put his cock in my ass and fuck me!’ We were both sent back to the orphanage the next day. I survived in that manner for the next seven years. The nuns couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. When I was in the orphanage, I was such a perfect young boy. But time after time I was returned with reports of terrible behavior. As I got older, I was sent to fewer and fewer fosterages. At  least at the orphanage, I had a cot to sleep on, clean clothes, tolerable food and I didn’t get beaten or attacked.”

“Unfortunately, at the last fosterage I was sent on at age thirteen, the man tried to rape me, and I beat him severely with a bat I had managed to steal and hide. Because of my record for bad behavior, they sent me to the juvenile detention center instead of the orphanage. I hated it there and the first chance I got, I escaped. There was nowhere for me to go except the streets. I hid in fear that the police were looking for me to send me back to the detention center, but the truth was no one really cared. If I had gotten arrested and was stupid enough to tell them my real name—and at the time I was just that stupid—then they might have been able to figure out I had run away from the detention center and would have sent me back. But I didn’t get arrested. I begged for money on street corners. I dug through the trash at restaurants and ate what I could find. I slept wherever I could, learning to avoid the places where the police patrolled to keep vagrants from sleeping. I could sleep in the park if I kept to the out of the way places and slept under bushes.”

“After a while, I stopped worrying about going back to detention.  I was getting thinner and thinner and basically starving. In desperation, one day I accepted the offer of a man who had asked if I would suck him off for $10. I had only eaten garbage for a week and had gotten sick from it and was starving and desperate. It repulsed me, but I did it. He showed up the next day and said he would give me $25 if I’d let him suck me off, then suck him off.  I justified it by thinking that the $35 would get me food for over a week if I was frugal about it. When the money was gone, and I was hungry again, I now knew how to get more money. I didn’t need to starve. However, when I did have money some of the others noticed that I was eating regularly and cornered me. When I wouldn’t give them my money, they took it from me by force. After that, when I did get money, I would hide it and only take what I needed for the food for that day. I also became secretive when I ate.”

“The men usually took me to their car to perform our acts. One day as I got into the car and was leaning over to earn my money, the original man I had started with surprised me. He reached over, grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me to him. Before I could react, he planted his lips on mine and kissed me. He told me I was such a beautiful young man with my blue eyes and dark curls and that he had grown quite fond of me. Of course, I had no feelings for him—but I was hungry again and needed money to eat. I wondered what he might want and what he would give me for it. He said he just wanted to kiss me and hold me for a while—that he was lonely. He would make it worth my while. I decided to go along with it to see what might happen. The next thing he offered was to take me to a motel room where we could just hold each other all night. He would order food and I would have a roof over my head and a real bed to sleep in instead of grass and the hard ground. I told him that I didn’t do overnight, and I did not do fucking. He said there would be no sex, no fucking. He offered me $75 to just let him hold me all night.  I found it hard to say no to that, although I knew better. But the thought of food and a real bed to sleep in was more than I could refuse. I really didn’t want to sleep on the ground in the grass that night. And to get $75 for it, too with no sex involved was just too tempting!”

“I agreed, and he asked what I wanted to eat. I asked for a hamburger, fries, coke and a chocolate shake. We went to a takeout place and he bought them for me and a hamburger and coke for himself. Then he stopped at a liquor store and said he would be right back. He came back with some beer and asked if I liked it. Of course, I did. Sometimes some of the other kids and I would pay the older boys to buy us some beer. We never could afford more than a can or two each, but we enjoyed what we could get. He had bought two six packs for us to enjoy. I was elated.”

“He drove us to a fairly nice motel and told me to duck down while he went in to register. Soon we entered what looked like pure luxury to me. It was a nice clean room with a double bed, a television, a phone, two chairs and a table, and a bathroom with a shower! He handed me the remote for the TV and showed me how to turn the TV on and search for channels. He said we could watch whatever I wanted. We climbed on the bed to eat our food. As I ate, I flipped through the channels trying to decide what I wanted to watch. It was hard to make up my mind and I kept changing channels after a few minutes of watching one channel. Occasionally, he would stroke my face, my hair or my arm, but I didn’t really notice—I was too enamored with the TV. “

“When the food was gone, he opened two beers and gave me one. Remember, I was near starvation and not at all used to that much food. I was truly stuffed but took the beer anyway and drank it down. After the second beer, however, I got nauseous and realized I was going to be sick and ran for the bathroom. I threw up that wonderful meal and those two beers.  He came in and washed my face and told me it was okay. I had just overindulged. He got me some ice water and told me to drink that. We went back into the other room and got back on the bed to continue watching TV. He put his arm around my waist and just held me. After a while, he opened two more beers. I took mine and drank it a bit slower. It went down better that time. After four beers I was drunk.”

“He asked when was the last time that I had a bath or a shower, and I answered that it had been a while. He suggested I take the opportunity to take a shower now. I let him lead me into the bathroom. He helped me take off my clothes. I got into the shower and it did feel good having that water flowing over my bare skin. However, a few minutes later I was startled when he opened the shower curtain and came in behind me, totally naked.”

“’I’m just going to scrub your back for you and didn’t want to get my own clothes wet,’ he told me. In my inebriated state of mind that made perfect sense. He gave me the best back rub I had ever had, then turned me around and kissed me. He was gentle and caring and I responded to him, not really understanding what was happening. He washed all the grime off me then pushed me against the shower wall and kissed me again and began sucking my neck. He ran his hands over my body and all my drunk mind knew was that it was all feeling very good. Then he asked me if I had ever fucked anyone before.  I lied and told him that I had, many times. He then asked if I’d like to fuck him. In my drunken state I said that yes, I would. He bent down and put his mouth on my young cock and made it erect. For the first time, the act made me feel pleasure instead of revulsion. I didn’t want him to stop, but he did.”

“’You do know what to do next, don’t you?  Put your fingers in my asshole then slide your cock in.’ I did not want to admit that I had no idea what I was doing so I did as he said. When my small cock went in, he moaned like I was the best lover ever, although now I know he could not have felt much. ‘Now push it all the way in, yes, that’s it. Pull it out, but not all the way. Now back in.’ After the first few heavenly strokes I knew what to do. I didn’t last long, but it was the most amazing thing I had ever felt when I came. So much better than when I stroked myself. And he had moaned and groaned throughout the whole short process. In my drunken stupor, I was so proud of myself.”

“He turned around and kissed me and held me tight. I liked the feel of his body against mine and returned the kiss. Afterwards, he turned off the shower and helped me dry off. He praised my prowess saying how very good I had made him feel and I was drunk enough to believe him. We climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over our naked bodies. We drank the last beers, watching television and kissing and caressing each other. I had never experienced this sharing aspect of sex and was totally enamored with it. He took his time with me, covering my body in kisses and caresses. I didn’t resist when he finally turned me over, pulled up my hips and began kissing and sucking on my buttocks. He pushed them gently apart and put his mouth on my asshole. I remember moaning when his finger penetrated me, then moaning louder when his cock entered me. He was gentle and slow, and I found it entirely enjoyable. Afterwards, he put his arms around me and held me all night as we slept. That was the first time I realized that sex could actually be a good thing.”

“The next morning, we dressed, and he said he would take me to get something to eat and take me back to where I hung out. We went through the drive-in for breakfast, then he put $100 in my hand in twenty-dollar bills. I tried to tell him that was too much, but he insisted. I asked that he drop me off where I could go hide my money before meeting up with the usual people who hung around the same place as I did. We kissed before I got out and I told him I’d see him soon and was off. I hid all the money since I wasn’t hungry, and I knew they would shake me down. Sure enough, when I showed up, they immediately started hounding me about where I’d been and if I had spent the night with a john. I acted angry and said the jerk had ripped me off. They didn’t believe me and several of them grabbed me and held me while the others rummaged through my clothes. When they found nothing, I reiterated that he had ripped me off and I had nothing to show for my trouble. They finally believed me and left me alone.”

“For the next few days I watched for him in vain. I looked forward to our next encounter and it wasn’t just because of the money. When I finally realized he wasn’t coming back I grew bitter and angry. Then I saw the absurdity of it. How could I, a thirteen-year-old boy, be any adult’s serious lover? What he did hurt me more than if he had just fucked me and paid me. He made me think he cared. I began ‘turning tricks’ as the others called it, not caring anymore. Some of the johns were rough, one even beat me so severely that, when I was found, I was taken to the hospital. After I had healed enough, I snuck out, afraid that I’d have to pay the hospital bill. My body finished healing on the streets, but my soul was sick and hopeless.”

“Just when I thought I had lost all hope, I met up with a group of other boys led by a worldly sixteen-year-old named Dan.”

“How can I describe Dan to you? In my thirteen-year-old eyes, he was beautiful. Sandy brown hair, green eyes, thin straight nose, somewhat thin, but curvy lips. He was wise. He protected us and led us. In reality, he was rather common-looking, always dirty, and very ignorant—his only real knowledge was how to live on the streets. He led us and protected us because he needed us. He needed our dependence on him to make his life meaningful. Without us, he was just another street kid. Remember,  I had never been part of a group before. Had never really known friendship or had other people depending on me or other people to depend on. It was all a new experience to me. Dan knew the best places to panhandle and taught us the best ways to panhandle. He’d put us in pairs and give us stories to tell our ‘marks’ like how our drug addled mother didn’t bring food home for us to eat so we were forced to beg or that we had a sister in the hospital and the family lost everything because of medical bills and were now living in our car and our parents were at the hospital caring for our sister. While many passed us by, there were always a few who listened and gave us money. He taught us how to steal food from the grocery store. A couple of us would make a diversion to draw attention while the rest of us stuffed our pockets with food and whatever we needed and could carry. Dan knew the safest places to sleep and the places to avoid that were gang territory.”

“I idolized Dan, we all did. But Dan and the fifteen-year-old Craig had been on the streets together since they were twelve and were very close. We watched with envy as their friendship turned into love. I’d see them holding hands and wish that Dan was holding my hand. I wanted Dan to put his arm around me the way he put his arm around Craig. At night, they would slip away from us and we’d hear them in the silence of the night talking softly, making soft guttural noises and moans. I wished desperately that it was Dan and I making those noises, making love to each other.”

“One night, Dan and Craig had a big fight and Craig went storming off. After Craig didn’t return for several days, I made up my mind to try and move in on Dan. I was there for him to talk to. I gave him comforting words. I found every excuse to touch him. By the end of the week, I was the one Dan was snuggling with at night. Then one night, I reached up and kissed him softly. I heard him sigh, then stroke my arm. Finally, he said, ‘Philippe, you do know that this thing between you and I cannot last long.’ ”

“I asked, ‘Why? Is it because I am only thirteen? I am almost fourteen now.’”

“’No that is not the reason. The reason is that I love Craig. And he will come back and the two of us will be together again.’”

“’And what if he doesn’t come back?’”

“’Then you will only be a substitute for him and that will not be fair to you. I will let you snuggle with me, but that will be all that passes between us. Can you understand that?’”

“ ‘Yes,’ I lied, but I truly did not understand. I thought all I needed was patience. Dan would eventually love me.”

“Two weeks later, Craig came back, and he and Dan were together again. I was heartbroken. I didn’t care what happened to me. I wanted to die. I started turning tricks again—letting strange men fuck me. Not caring who I went with. The others warned me that I could wind up in a ditch somewhere dead. I did not care. I got in the car with one man and he fucked me, beat me and force me out of his car without paying me. I was angry that I didn’t get my money. The rest didn’t matter to me. At one point, I was standing on a street corner and saw a city bus approaching. I debated whether I should step out in front of the bus or not. I decided why not and took a step off the curb, but the man next to me grabbed me and pulled me back. ‘What’s wrong with you, boy? Didn’t you see that bus?’ I sneered at him and pulled away. I heard him say, ‘Damned street kids.’ ”

“That’s when it hit me. I could die, and no one would care. Yes, my street kid friends would care, but we were all used to death. When one of us died, it was best to just forget and move on. In a way, we all expected to die at any time. Death was our escape from this life. Our only escape.”

Philippe stopped and stared into the fire. Lorraine put his arm around him and rested his head on his shoulder patiently waiting for Philippe to continue.

Philippe sighed and continued. “Yes, I realized my only hope of escape was death. That is until this well-dressed gentleman came to Dan and presented him with an offer to propose to us. The well-dressed gentleman proposed to pair any of us with an older, well-off gentleman. That gentleman would take us off the street and care for us in exchange for sex. There would be no beatings, no physical abuse. We would have a comfortable life and all we had to do was have sex with our provider when he wanted.”

“I knew if I stayed on the street much longer, I would die, or I would kill myself. I already sold my body for sex, so why not sell my whole life for sex? I knew the part about there being no abuse or beatings was a lie. Sex under those type of circumstances always included beatings and abuse because it really wasn’t about sexual fulfillment—it was about power over another individual. I figured if I was going to die, I may as well die with a roof over my head and wearing nice clothes. That was better than dying on the streets. So, I volunteered.”

Philippe looked at Lorraine. “Do you understand where I was at that moment?”

Lorraine answered softly, “You were without hope. Utterly desperate.”

Philippe answered, “Yes, without hope, but no longer desperate. I was beyond desperate. I had totally given up. My spirit was broken. I saw no future for me. I was depraved. The worst of the worst. I would do anything for a little money. No one could want me or care for me. I was despicable.”

Lorraine said, “No, you are wrong. You did what you did to stay alive, but you never committed a real sin—you never killed anybody.”

“But I tried to kill Al and I beat that other man with a bat and wanted to kill him, but I was stopped before I could do it. And I was only a child then.”

“But those were instances of self-defense. You were being abused and attacked. You were justified in your responses. But I do understand when you say that your spirit was broken. It breaks my heart to hear it and know it is true.”

To be continued………………………

 

Chapter 60 Part 2

Philippe gave Lorraine a sad smile, then continued. “That is when I was paired with Harry.  He had been a tall man but at sixty was a little stooped and very thin. His once jet-black hair was now almost entirely streaked with white—only a bit of black remained here and there. His grey-green eyes were friendly and smiling. His mouth was permanently lined with ‘smile wrinkles.’ He had been a bank CEO before he retired at fifty and travelled the world. Poor health now kept him from his travels.”

“I am not sure what I was expecting when they took me to meet him, but it wasn’t the man I saw before me. He stood there impeccable in an expensive grey suit, poised and sure of himself. He appeared to be a man who expected respect and who got his way. When I looked at him, I knew I was looking at a real gentleman in the true sense of the word. He wasn’t at all threatening. And I think I shocked him, too. He had not expected the filthy kid who stood before him. That was when he realized just how filthy a street kid can be. I was impressed with his immaculately clean and fashionably designed house—the clean, uncluttered lines of it. I remember the car that delivered me to him had gone down a wide street lined with gated houses with yards as big as the park I called home. His intricately carved gate had opened for us and we went down a tree-lined drive-way to his concrete and glass home. I was shocked by the modernity of it because I had half-expected to see a stereotypical columned old-fashioned mansion.”

“He introduced himself as Harry and asked my name. I told him I was called Philippe Orleans. He looked at me quizzically when I said the name.”

“He told me, ‘Has anyone told you that there is a very famous historical man by that name? He was called Philippe duc d’Orleans and he was the brother of King Louis XIV who ruled France for some seventy years in the 1700’s.’”

“My answer was simple, ‘No.’ It was the first I had heard about it.”

“’Your mother or father never told you about him?’”

“’I never knew my mother or father. I was abandoned as an infant.’”

“’Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Well, I think the first thing we shall do is get you cleaned up.’”

“ ‘Living on the streets, we don’t get many showers,’ I said sarcastically.”

“He took me into the bathroom and turned on the water for my bath, then undressed me, handling my clothes with obvious disgust. He said something about having to burn them. He helped me into the tub and began washing me. He was gentle but thorough. I remember flinching when he touched my genitals, but he was gentle as he thoroughly washed them. He might have lingered on that area a bit too long, but that was all.  He gave me one of his tee shirts and a pair of shorts to wear until he could get me some clothes the next day. He commented about all the cuts and sores on my body and how very skinny I was. He got some antibiotic cream and rubbed it gently onto my cuts and sores, lifting my shirt and pulling down my pants as he needed.”

“I finally asked him, ‘When are we going to have sex? That’s what you want from me isn’t it?’”

“He looked at me sadly and asked, ‘Do you like to have sex?’ ”

“I stared back at him and answered, ‘Sometimes. But most of the time I just don’t care one way or the other.’”

“Then he asked me, ‘Do you want to have sex with me?’ ”

“I looked directly at him and said, ‘It doesn’t really matter to me.’ ”

“I saw the shocked look in his eyes. He took a moment to look into my eyes and study my posture. He finally said, ‘You are truly dead inside, aren’t you?’ ”

“I answered, ‘I guess that is a good way of explaining it. But really, it doesn’t matter to me. If you want to fuck me now, go ahead.’ ” I turned around, pulled my shorts down, leaned over and presented my butt to him. I leaned my hands against the wall to brace myself.”

“He just looked at me. I asked, ‘Or do you need me to suck you first to get you hard?’ ” I stood up, turned around and moved towards him.”

“He put his arm out to stop me. ‘No, I don’t want that now. I assume you have been selling your body for money.’ ”

“ ‘That’s a nice way of putting it, but yes, I have been doing anything men want for whatever money they will give me. Sad to say, but my body doesn’t seem to be worth much.’ ”

“He ignored my comment. ‘Tomorrow we will go shopping for clothes for you, then in the afternoon I will get you in to see my doctor and have you tested. Whether or not we ever have sex remains to be seen.’ ”

“The last comment frightened me. I could still wind up back out on the street! It occurred to me that I didn’t want that, and I had better figure out how to be nice to this man and convince him that he wanted me around.”

“ ‘My god! Is it true you are only thirteen?’ ”

 “ ‘Almost fourteen in four months.’ ”

“He just shook his head in disbelief.”

Philippe stopped, drank some wine and stared into the fireplace watching the dancing flames. Lorraine gently squeezed Philippe’s hand and stroked his arm but said nothing.

After a while, Philippe was ready to continue. “The new clothes he bought me were nice. He also bought me a soldier set. That worried me—was it an omen that this would turn out as bad as the other time? The trip to the doctor’s office was the worst. They had me strip, then gave me this ridiculous paper gown to wear. They poked me, they prodded me. The doctor stuck his gloved finger in my ass and poked around. He also grabbed my cock and squeezed and prodded it. He stuck a swab into the end of it and that hurt like hell. He then took each of my balls and thoroughly examined them, squeezing and prodding. Then they began scraping various parts of my body with a small scalpel putting the gathered cells onto small rectangular glass plates.”

“Then came the needles. They took about eight vials of blood and gave me a glass of orange juice to drink. Then they started giving me shots. They said something about immunizations that I had missed. I was so relieved when they were done. If I had not been so afraid of being returned to the street, I would have fought them. But because of my fear of returning to streets, I sat passively.”

“When they were done, I was almost ready to cry—and it had been ages since I had cried. I fought it with everything I had. I could not let them see me cry.”

“When we got out to the car, Harry told me, ‘I am so proud of how you behaved in there. You really took it like a man.’ He put his hand on my back and I was surprised at how comforting it felt.”

“When we got home, I went to what was now ‘my room.’ It was much bigger and much nicer than the first one I had. There was a telescope at the window and a nice wooden table with a globe of the earth on it. There were several bookcases filled with books. The solar system hung from the ceiling and lit up at night. In fact, my whole ceiling lit up at night with the stars and constellations. At the time I had little true understanding of what these things were, but I came to learn about them. I decided that for all these luxuries I would truly be willing to fuck any number of men every night. That was how I had learned to measure the value of things—by how willing I was to perform any sex act to earn them. How sad and pathetic my life was at that point in time.”

“I played with the soldier set quite a bit. Instead of solid green plastic things, these were carved wooden soldiers painted with realistic clothes, faces, hands and weapons. It was a wondrously magnificent set. Harry surprised me with other presents—mostly realistic trucks and construction equipment. There was a scale model bulldozer that really worked. I could take it to the dirt and it would scoop the dirt up into piles. I had a controller to make it move where I wanted. There was also a working crane. I was having the childhood I was never allowed to have.”

“The first week I felt sick. Harry told me it was all the shots they had given me and that I would be fine. Over the following couple of weeks, I had to go back to the doctor’s office a couple of times and get more shots. More blood and scrapings were taken, but I endured it all with determination. I did not want to return to the streets. Each night, Harry would bathe me. That was our ritual. There was not a trace of the streets on me now. My sores and cuts were healed. His hands were gentle and caring as he washed me, then dried me, and finally dressed me for bed. He walked me into the bedroom holding my hand and tucked me in, kissing me gently before turning out my light and leaving. At first, I expected him to make a move on me, but as time passed, I stopped thinking about that. All I knew was that I really liked the man and loved this life he was giving me. Yet, I was no fool. I knew I would have to pay a price of some sort. I just had no idea what it would be.”

Again, Philippe stopped and stared into the dancing flames, before continuing.

“Then came the night he opened a bottle of wine and offered me a glass. It wasn’t long before I was drunk. When he put his arm around me, I didn’t pull away. Instead I leaned into him. His arm around me made me feel safe. When he stroked my face, I smiled and looked back at him, my mouth anticipating the kiss that followed. I kissed him back with equal fervor. I was ready to give myself to him. But he was patient and wanted to take it slow. He told me he loved me. He said I was such a beautiful young man. He emphasized the word ‘man.’ He said I was mature way beyond my years and was no longer a boy but a man. He ran his hands through my curly hair and brushed his fingertips across what he called my perfect lips. He looked into my eyes and said he could see the sky and the heavens in them.”

“When I looked at him, I didn’t see the years that had worn him down, wrinkled his face and made the skin on his body sag. I saw into the soul of the man he had been and still was. I felt love when I looked at him. Maybe it was a drunken love or a love springing from a  desire to stay off the streets and in his paradise. But love is love, no matter the reasons for feeling it. Or so I thought at the time. It was the best love I had known in my thirteen years of life, so it was enough for me.”

“We kissed, and he drew me to him. His hands ran up and down my body reveling in my youth and the feel of young, supple flesh. He removed my clothes and pushed me down on the couch and began to suck my neck. I threw my head back and offered my neck to him to do as he pleased. He sucked hard, covering it in purple bruises as I moaned at the exquisite pain of it. He moved to my nipples and teased and sucked them, finally biting them, too. His lips moved down to my belly and I took my hands and pushed his head down to my young cock. In the back of my mind I remembered Al’s large cock and I knew mine was currently so small and insignificant. But Harry made no mention of its size and he sucked and licked it as if it were the biggest and best cock on the earth. I tried so hard to prolong my erection, but it was not meant to be. Or maybe Harry was just that good.  That’s what I told myself, anyway. When Harry kissed me, I could taste the slightly salty taste in his mouth.”

“Harry pulled me to a sitting position, then gently off the couch to my knees and over to kneel between his legs. I knew what he wanted and unbuttoned his pants and, together, we removed them. I took his shriveled cock in my hands and guided it into my mouth. I used my mouth and lips to bring it to life. He gently pulled my head off it and pulled me up to kiss me. After the kiss, he stood up and pulled me to standing for another kiss. Then he led me to the end of the couch. The couch had large, softly upholstered arms and he gently pushed me face down over the arm of the couch. I felt his lips on my neck and, as they moved down my body, licking and kissing me, his hands also caressed me.”

“When he reached my buttocks, he kissed them with his lips, kneaded them with his hands then parted them gently. I felt his tongue on my ass hole. It was a new experience to me and he was an expert at evoking the erotic sensations. He had me moaning and ready for penetration, but he withheld it working me into a further frenzy causing me to beg him. I finally felt his cock penetrate me and I cried out in joy. This act that I had hated and loathed for so long, finally felt right and good. I made happy grunting sounds with each thrust. Harry didn’t (or couldn’t) go as fast and hard as others had, but each thrust was deliberate, and he knew how to move for maximum penetration and stimulation. It never occurred to me to think that he was very experienced at fucking young men. All I knew was that I liked what he was doing, and I let him know with my moans and utterances. Then, to my surprise, I had a climax. I moaned and cried out “Oh, god!” Then Harry made a few more deliberate thrusts and reached his own climax, moaning loudly.”

“I knew from that day forward, that when he opened a bottle of wine and offered me a glass that we were going to have sex. I wanted it more than he could give me, so I was always ready for him. One night a friend of his came over and we drank wine together. When Harry mentioned that it would turn him on to see me with the other man, I didn’t hesitate. I gave myself to the man freely, then to Harry. They made me forget that I was only thirteen. They called me their young God of love. They said I looked like the young Greek statues or kouros with my curly hair and lithe body. I had also filled out and wasn’t so pathetically skinny anymore.”

“But it wasn’t all just sex with Harry. Over the two years I was with him, I became an avid reader. He opened my eyes to the wonderful literary world. We studied the stars and the miracles of our solar system. We studied the history of warfare together—the history of nations and continents. He taught me the history of France including the reign of the Sun King and this brother with whom I shared a name. He took the paltry schooling I had had and expanded it immensely. He gave me the desire to learn and renewed my desire to live. He filled me with the love I had missed for thirteen years. He looked forward to sending me to college and watching me become the man he knew I would be.”

Philippe stopped again and filled his wine glass and drank half of it in one swig. He stared at the fire and Lorraine saw tears fill his eyes and slide down his face. Lorraine feared disaster was coming and his heart ached for the pain Philippe was reliving.

Finally, Philippe continued. “One night, when I was fifteen, we had drunk half a bottle of wine. It had gotten harder for him to perform during sex, so we had adopted a position where he sat on the bed and I sat in his lap positioning myself on his cock. I used my arms to push myself up and down, doing most of the work. I knew he was close to release, so, when he started making sounds, I thought he was just climaxing. But he wasn’t. He was having a heart attack. He tried to stand up and we both fell forward onto the floor with him landing on top of me.  I then knew something was terribly wrong and I tried desperately to get out from under him and finally freed myself from his blindly clutching grip and stood up. He was moaning and writhing in pain, now clutching his chest. I kneeled on the floor and put my ear as close to his mouth as I could get to hear what he was saying. I realized he was telling me to call 9-1-1. I had never had a reason to use the phone but had seen him do it. I finally figured out how to dial and reached the emergency center. When they asked me what our address was, I had no idea. They finally used the phone line to trace our address and told me the ambulance was on the way. They told me to stay on the line, but I knew I had to get dressed, so I let the receiver drop and ran to my room. I didn’t want those people to see me naked. I frantically tried to think how I could dress Harry but knew I couldn’t do it by myself and there was no time. The emergency team was there almost before I got myself dressed.”

Lorraine hugged Philippe as he stopped to drink more wine and tried to push away the tears that were still flowing. Lorraine said softly, “It’s okay to cry,” as tears rolled down his own cheeks.

Philippe began again, “They took him to the hospital and he died the next week. I never got to say goodbye to him. I stayed at the house because I had nowhere else to go. His daughter flew in and took care of all the arrangements. I knew she despised me even though I tried to explain to her that Harry and I had loved each other. She called me street trash who had conned her sweet, senile father. She didn’t want me at the funeral. I knew it was a matter of time before she kicked me out, so I gathered the things he had given me that I knew could be hocked. I also took some of his jewelry and other items and put them all in a bag. I added my birth certificate and that old friendship bracelet to that bag. I hid the bag outside the wall in a bush where I could find it quickly when I was forced to leave.”

“The day she showed up with a couple of large men, I knew she was going to kick me out. And that is what she did. She screamed at me to get my filthy self out of the house and to never come back again. If I did, they would have me thrown in jail. She even accused me of killing her father and said she would prove it in a court of law if I came back. She would have me tried as an adult because of the depravity of it. I ran out the door and the men came out to ensure I left. I ran down the tree-lined drive looking back only once and saw that she and the men were still watching me. The gate opened for me then closed behind me. I went to the bush and retrieved my bag. I was back on the streets again.”

End of Part Two…………………. To be continued

Philippe continued, “After Harry’s daughter kicked me out, I wandered aimlessly with no idea where to go. All I knew was that I had to find a pawn shop. I didn’t really understand how a pawn shop worked—I just knew that some of the older kids in the park would take items they had stolen to a pawn shop and get money for them. I wanted money, so I could get a cheap motel room and food. I wanted to stay clean and avoid looking like a street kid who slept in the park for as long as I could.”

“A gentleman in a very nice, late model car slowed down and asked out the window if I was lost. I told him I was looking for a pawn shop and he said he would take me to one. I got in the car and once inside he told me that, if I needed money, he knew a way I could make it. I think the look of anger that came over my face frightened him as I said, ‘If you lay a hand on me, I will kill you.’ He didn’t speak again and took me to the nearest pawn shop glad to have me out of his car.”

“I walked over to peer in through the window and noticed a boy several years older than me watching me. He walked over to me and said, ‘You know you are too young to pawn anything. And you need ID, too. They just might think you stole that stuff and call the police on you.’ I just glared at him, not knowing what to say, really. Those things had not occurred to me. He then extended his hand to me and said, ‘My name is Dusty, and I have an ID. I could hock those things for you for a cut. I know the guy inside and we have an arrangement of sorts. He gives me a good payout and I give him 10% back in cash that he keeps for himself. I’ll split the rest with you 50/50.’”

“I studied him for a while thinking over his offer. Dusty had a head of thick ash blonde hair that tumbled down almost into his dark brown eyes. He had a habit of unconsciously pushing the hair back from his face every few minutes. He was almost the same height as me, but not as thin. It was his manner that interested me. He had a slow, languid way of moving as if he had all the time in the world and never felt rushed. I could tell by the way he looked at me that I amused him for some reason. I knew he didn’t expect me to take the offer without haggling over percentages. Or maybe he thought I was too naïve to haggle. I told him, ‘20/80, take it or leave it.’”

“He was shocked. “You are joking, right?’”

“I told him with as angry a look as I could muster, ‘Don’t let my clean looks fool you. I don’t joke.’ ”

“He looked me up and down, then said, ‘Okay, kid. Suit yourself,’ and turned to walk away at his slow devil-may-care pace.”

“I let him get a good twenty yards away from me before I said loudly, ‘30/70. If you get a good payout then I will consider upping it to 40/60.’”

“He turned and walked back. ‘Deal. Let me see what you have.’ ”

“We went around the corner away from prying eyes on the street. When I opened the bag, he whistled, ‘Very nice! What did you do, rob your old man?’ ”

“I looked Dusty in the eye and said, ‘No, He was my lover and he died of a heart attack while we were fucking.’ ”

“Dusty studied me for a minute then said, ‘Sorry, kid. Did you care for him?’ ”

“’Yes, I loved him, and he loved me. He was sixty and I was thirteen when he took me off the streets. His daughter kicked me out after he died.’ ”

“That was all Dusty needed to know. With that bit of information, he knew the situation clearly. ‘Okay kid. We have a decision to make. Do we hock it all at once or in pieces? If we hock it all at once, we will get less money. However, if we hock it a piece at a time. we’ll get more overall money but take the risk of being robbed. It is up to you.’ ”

“I thought on it a moment, then said, ‘Let’s try one piece so I can see what it is worth.’ I dug through the bag and chose a pair of what looked to be sapphire cuff links. ‘Try these first.’ ”

“Dusty told me, ‘This is a good choice. He will be impressed. I will tell him there is more like this to come. That will give him time to get with his contacts and maybe find better buyers for the merch and get us more money. You can come in with me if you want.’ ”

“I said, ‘Of course, I am coming in with you.’ ”

“Dusty looked offended and said, ’Look kid, I won’t cheat you. I can tell you are not one to be trifled with. And, for some odd reason, I like you. Let’s go make a deal.’ ”

“With that the two of us walked through the pawn shop door. Dusty greeted the man behind the counter as Gus. Gus had short red hair, dark green eyes and the ugliest nose I had ever seen. It was thick and twisted—had obviously been broken a few times—and the end was grotesquely bulbous. His mouth was thin and twisted into a permanent sneer. I was glad I had Dusty with me to talk to him for me because if I had been alone, I probably would have turned tail and run.”

“Gus greeted Dusty with, ‘What’s this your little brother?’ ”

“ ‘No, he’s a new friend of mine by the name of Phil. I think you are going to like what I have for you today.’ ”

“ ‘It better be good because I am tired of all the cheap junk you bring in and expect good money for.’ ”

“Dusty cleared a spot on the cluttered counter and made a show of laying out the gold cuff links with their sparkling blue gems. ‘Don’t try to cheat me, I know these are the real deal—genuine sapphires—set in real gold.’ ”

“Gus picked one up and eyed it through his loupe, turning it this way and that to study the clarity and quality of the gems. He did the same with the other cuff link. Finally, he spoke, ‘Where’d you get these?’ ”

“Dusty smiled and said, ‘That really isn’t something I want to divulge. But there is more like this of the same or better quality. If it is too genuine for you to handle, I can always go to Sam’s pawn. He can handle the real quality pieces. I just like the arrangement you and I have better.’ ”

“Gus glared at Dusty then turned his glare onto me. I looked back at him calmly showing no emotion. ‘Did your little friend rob someone to get these?’ ”

“Dusty answered, “As I said, it really is none of your business. They will not be on the hot list of that I can guarantee you.’ ”

“I shifted a little nervously. I didn’t think Harry’s daughter had any idea of the jewelry her dad had, so most likely she would not even know to report these items missing. I had ensured there was a decent amount of jewelry left and to not leave any clues that any had been taken. What I was naïve to was the matter of insurance. Most valuable jewelry was insured so it was inventoried and photographed. As meticulous as Harry was about everything it was almost certain the items I had taken would be missed eventually. But I couldn’t know that at the time.”

“Gus reached under the counter and took out a stronger loupe and continued to study the cuff links. Finally, he said, ‘Don’t see no insurance numbers or marks engraved on them—they look clean. Give me a day to get with my buyers.’ ”

“Dusty answered, ‘How about an advance and an official receipt? We want to do things on the up and up here.’ ”

“Gus scowled but said, “How about $50 for now?’”

“I was shocked but tried not to show my surprise. Dusty studied Gus’s face for a bit and in his languid manner asked, ‘Do you think that is a very fair advance for a pair of very quality cuff links?’ ”

“Gus scratched his chin nervously and finally said, ‘Okay, $100, but that’s all I can swing until I talk to my buyers.’ ”

“Dusty shook his head and said, ‘Since we are friends and have done a lot of business, I will go with that, even though I think it is low for items as good as these. I know your till probably isn’t that full since your business has been slow lately. $100 it is. As I said, write up an official receipt. And don’t think about switching them for a lesser value pair. I will notice.’ ”

“Gus pulled out a pad of receipts and wrote up the receipt. Next, he took out a book and made notations in it. He then attached a wire on the ring with a tag onto which he wrote a number that corresponded with the receipt and the number he entered in his book. He opened his till and counted out one hundred dollars in twenties then tore off the receipt and handed both to Dusty.’ ”

“Dusty answered, ‘We’ll be back tomorrow!’ ”

“We left the shop quickly and went several blocks before Dusty pulled me between two buildings. ‘Okay, kid. What do you think is a fair split? Keep in mind that I think those cuff links are worth about $2000, maybe more. If you want to stick with me, I’m going to a library and do some research. I saw a jeweler’s mark on those cuff links and want to check out the value of the items they sell. Afterwards, I’m going to get a room and some beer. I wouldn’t mind sharing with you.’ ”

“I was stunned and overwhelmed. I really didn’t have much of a plan. I knew I needed to stick with Dusty because he had proved how valuable he was at the pawn shop. But I was a little hesitant about sharing a room with him and drinking. I remembered the last time I did that. I wasn’t ready for that again.”

“As I stood there trying to decide what to do, Dusty said, ‘Think on it, kid. Let’s go to the library. There’s one a few blocks over—here, you take the money and give me what you feel is right later.’ He put the money in my hand and I stared at it a moment. I decided to give Dusty forty dollars. I wanted to give him fifty but didn’t have the change and sixty would be too much, so forty it was. He smiled and thanked me. Then we started walking to the library. This time Dusty walked quickly, anxious to check out that jeweler.”

“When we entered the library, I was overwhelmed by the sight of all those books. It brought back memories of Harry and me in his private library and I had to desperately fight back the tears. I loved the quiet dignity of the library with all those rows and rows of bookcases filled with books, meticulously categorized and marked. Then I remembered Harry saying something about libraries were there for the public to borrow books from. I knew I would have to look into that, but Dusty had come to the computers and he grabbed my arm to pull me into a seat next to his.”

“’I’ll be right back, I have to go sign up to use this computer.’ He left and went to the desk returning a short while later with a card with numbers on it. He turned on the computer and entered the numbers onto a screen. He started searching and soon he was grabbing my arm and whispering, ‘Yes! Just as I thought. Your friend had expensive tastes and went to a very exclusive jeweler. Those cuff links will be worth a lot more than two thousand. My estimate is closer to three thousand! That means we should get around two thousand three hundred for the cuff links!’ ”

“I just stared at him in disbelief. My mind couldn’t wrap around that amount of money.”

“ ‘The only problem is that someone is going to find the insurance papers on all that jewelry and alert the authorities. It may be best if we get rid it all in one big lot and then stay low for a while. Gus can get it to his sellers before it goes on the hot list. The other thing is that we probably should do our deals under the table with Gus so there is no record of it. It will be tricky to work that one out and not get ripped off.’ I could tell Dusty was in deep thought and was anxious and excited. For myself, I was just stunned. I had no idea what to do and knew I was at Dusty’s mercy.”

“ ‘Okay, kid, let’s go get some beer. Are you with me on sharing a room? Maybe we’ll even get us some girls. Yes, I think that is a grand idea—and the girls are on me!’ ”

“I blanched at the mention of girls. On the one hand, it meant I probably had nothing to fear from Dusty as far as being sexually abused. On the other hand, the thought of having sex with a girl filled me with dread. I wasn’t even sure I could do it or even wanted to. How was I going to get that across to Dusty?”

“Dusty turned and looked at me. I am not sure what was showing on my face, but something clicked with Dusty. ‘Oh, right. You were in love with that man. Have you ever been with a girl?’ ”

“I nodded my head, ‘No.’ ”

“Are you interested in girls at all? I mean are you sure you just weren’t forced into having sex with guys and now think that is what you like?’ ”

“ ‘I don’t know. I haven’t been around girls much. Most of the street kids I hung out with were guys.’ ”

“’Well, then, let’s just see if we can’t at least help you figure that one out tonight. There’s this chick who has the hots for me and she has this sweet little friend that I think would love to solve your problem for you. She has a liking for very young men like you. First, let’s get a room. There’s a decent place several blocks over. Not fancy, but it is clean and not too expensive. Then we’ll go get the beer and girls—or I can go if you want. You can stay in the room and watch TV until I get back.’ ”

“I answered, ‘Okay,’ and Dusty took off walking with me following behind trying to keep up.”

“The motel was as he said, clean, inexpensive and simple. I handed Dusty a twenty and he said, ‘Okay, that’s for the booze, the girls are on me.’ Then he left.”

“While Dusty was gone, I tried to get a handle on my situation. I emptied the contents of the bag on the bed and went through what I had grabbed. I remembered that I had wanted the rings that Harry always wore and had made sure to grab them. I inspected them carefully. One was encrusted with diamonds. Another had a circle of good-sized diamonds surrounding a beautiful green stone that I thought must be an emerald. Then there were the watches. Magnificent pieces that looked extremely expensive. I loved the one that had the gears showing and was elegantly modern in its styling. There were a variety of tie clasps, all very exquisitely made with gold and various gems and diamonds.”

“Then I sorted out the items that he had given me. There was the watch with the exquisitely carved little gears all over its face—he had called it skeleton something—and that’s what it looked like—that the ‘skeleton’ gears of the watch were front and center. I turned it over and saw the engraving, _To Philippe, my young god of love, with all my love, Harry_. It was more than I could handle, and the tears started rolling down my face. Better to try and get it all out before Dusty came back. But then the sobs started and soon I was in full-blown hysterics crying under my breath, ‘Why, Harry, why did you have to leave me?’ I let it all out and after a while, the sobs stopped, and the tears dried up. I felt dead inside, drained of all feeling. It was much better than the intensity that had just gripped me. I picked up each piece Harry had given me and lovingly put it into the bag: several tie clips, numerous cuff links, a couple of other not so fancy watches, several gold chains, and a handful of rings. These were his gifts to me I told myself—and not stolen property. I also told myself that Harry would have wanted me to have the other items, too. I could almost hear his voice telling me, ‘Take it and use it wisely to keep yourself safe.’ Once everything was safely in the bag, I put it under the bed and turned on the TV.”

“It wasn’t too much longer before Dusty came in with two women on his arms, a large case of beer and a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. He introduced the blonde one as Darla and the brown haired one as  Tina. Both were buxom with sensuous curves that were barely covered in spandex pants and low-cut tops. They wore too much makeup and had shrill voices.”

“Dusty said as he entered, ‘And here is our benefactor, Philippe, who has had a rather sad time of it. Tina see what you can do to cheer him up.’ Dusty turned and he and Darla engaged in a heated tongue twisting kiss.”

“Tina came over to me and sat on the edge of the bed and ran her hand down my leg. ‘So, Dusty tells me you have only been with men and are not sure of your preferences, never having been with a woman, is that right?’ ”

“I gulped and shook my head, ‘yes,’ totally uneasy at her closeness and somewhat nauseated by her cheap perfume which she had lavishly splashed all over her skin. Before I realized what she was doing, she had reached over and put her pink painted lips onto mine and was giving me a passionate kiss, her tongue almost down my throat. Her hand went down to my crotch and fondled my still limp little cock.”

“I saw the disappointed look on her face. Shaking her head, she said, ‘No reaction. What a shame. You are such a beautiful young man with those dark curls and those blue eyes. You have such a kissable mouth, too. Maybe I pushed you too fast. Let’s try taking it a little slower, then. I’ll get you off one way or the other, so don’t worry.’ ”

“I opened my mouth to say something but had no idea what to say except. ‘no, I don’t want to,’ and that seemed very impolite to say. I felt an obligation to stick it out to please Dusty as strange as that may sound.”

“Dusty interrupted us by passing the bottle of Jack to Tina. She took a long swig then handed it to me. I had never drunk whiskey before and wasn’t ready for the burning as it went down my throat. I spluttered and gagged, and they all laughed. I made a face and went to hand it back to her, but she insisted I try another swig. I was ready for that one and it went down a little easier. Still Tina wouldn’t take the bottle and insisted I take another long drink of the whiskey. After that one, she took the bottle, drank from it, and handed it back to Dusty.”

“My eyes were still watering from the whiskey when Dusty handed Tina a beer to pass on to me. ‘Here, kid, you may find this more to your liking.’ ”

“I opened the beer and took a drink as Tina watched me. She slid her hand inside my shirt to fondle my chest, then started undoing the buttons. She climbed on the bed, pushed my legs apart and sat on her knees between them. She reached over and kissed me again, this time softer. Her lips went to my neck and began kissing and sucking. I closed my eyes and tried to pretend it was Harry, but that image and feeling was hard to find—especially with her nauseating perfume in my nostrils. The next thing I knew she had taken off her skimpy blouse, grabbed my hair and was pushing my face into her large breasts. I was repulsed beyond words and fought with her to get her hands out of my hair and get my face out of those enormous monstrosities. She pouted again and looked at me quizzically.”

“I decided to speak and said, ‘Really, I don’t think it is much use to go on.’ But she had other ideas and wasn’t ready to give up yet.”

“That is when I noticed that Dusty and Darla had made it over to the other bed and were both naked and locked in a writhing embrace. I looked away quickly, embarrassed. Tina had removed my shirt and was now removing my pants. I was feeling a little woozy from all the alcohol and just watched her in a stupor. Now that I was naked, she took the can of beer from my hand and held it up to my lips. I had to drink or have beer run down my chest. She made me drink the whole can.”

“Satisfied that I was adequately inebriated, she whispered in my ear, ‘Close your eyes. Pretend it is someone you love and not me.’ Closing my eyes was the easy part. The rest not so easy at first. She started caressing and kissing my body. With my eyes closed and my head spinning it was easier to succumb to the kisses and caresses. A part of me went back to my nights with Harry and I imagined those were his lips and his hands. Then I felt her mouth on my cock. I pushed away the image of her and replaced it with Harry. His lips had been thinner than hers and his method a bit different, but she did get a response from me and I felt my youthful cock coming to life.”

“I whimpered a little, a part of me knowing it was not Harry, but another part of me happy in the illusion. Then I felt her moving on the bed and realized she was lowering her ass onto my cock. When I penetrated her, I moaned loudly. With my eyes closed and my head swimming with alcohol, I imagined I was with Harry once again. She was an expert at what she was doing and had me writhing and moaning. As my orgasm washed over me, I cried out, ‘Harry, oh god, Harry!’ Afterwards, my eyes still closed, tears poured down my face. I knew that it had not been Harry and that he was forever lost to me. She tried to comfort me, but I pushed her away and off me, turned on my side and curled up into a ball, lost in my misery. I could hear the bed next to me creaking and shaking and the obscene sounds coming from Dusty and Darla—and then I heard Tina’s voice asking if there was room for one more and Dusty answering, ‘Yes, doll.’  I covered my ears and turned away pulling the pillow over my head to drown out the noises.”

“I finally drifted off to a troubled sleep. When I woke in the morning, I saw the three of them, naked, sprawled over the bed. I dressed, grabbed my bag and quietly left the room although I probably could have stomped my way out and none of them would have heard me. I walked until I found a small coffee shop and went in to have some breakfast. I had a headache from the alcohol, but the coffee helped relieve that somewhat. When the waitress refilled my cup, I saw the disapproving look she gave me. I realized I had not brushed my hair in my haste to get away from the room. I also realized I stank of alcohol. That was probably what she was disapproving of—a teenager, disheveled and obviously hung over. Between my fear that she might smell sex on me and my watering eyes at my sadness, I decided to keep my head down and not look anyone in the eye.”

“I ordered a short stack of pancakes with an egg and bacon and marveled that I could actually afford to do this and would be able to do this in the future. When the food came, I delighted in spreading the butter over my pancakes and watched in delight as the thick syrup poured out and drizzled onto the pancakes. I laid the strips of bacon over the top of the pancakes and moved the egg with my fork and knife onto the pancakes. Harry and I always ate our pancakes this way. I sighed as the thought of Harry twisted my gut but tried to remember the happiness we had shared. What is that saying? ‘Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?’ Something like that. At that moment I wasn’t sure that was true at all. It is always better to love and keep loving.”

Philippe stopped and looked at Lorraine. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I am so glad I have you.” He leaned over and kissed Lorraine tenderly. Lorraine ran his fingers down Philippe’s face.

Lorraine was now curious. “So, what did you do, now that you had the possibility of so much money?”

Philippe answered, “What does a fifteen-year-old do with a lot of money? I had no idea. I knew I didn’t want to waste it on parties and alcohol with Dusty, but I knew I still needed Dusty to work with the pawn shop owner. My main concern was having a roof over my head, a bed and food to eat for as long as I could—preferably until I was old enough to work. And I knew I would have to be careful and not have it stolen from me. That was my biggest fear. For now, I knew I had to return to Dusty. I decided to stop in a bookstore and buy me a book. I went over to the history aisle and my eye was drawn to a book, _Brother to the Sun King: Philippe Duke of Orleans_. Harry and I had read about the reign of Louis XIV and there had been mention of his brother Philippe. We had joked about me having the same name and had decided that my parents, whoever they were had thought it funny to name me after that brother. I always figured my parents’ last name was Orleans.”

Lorraine stopped Philippe. “Wait a minute. Isn’t Louis and your mother’s last name Dieudonne? How did Orleans get on your birth certificate?”

Philippe answered, “I don’t know. I’ve wondered about that a lot. I know my birth certificate is authentic. I checked the official records.”

Lorraine answered, “That bears some looking into. Maybe you and Louis are only half-brothers. Maybe your mother was married to a Mr. Dieudonne when Louis was born and then to an Orleans when you were born. After she gave you up maybe she changed back to Dieudonne to have the same last name as Louis.”

Philippe sighed and asked, “Why does everything connected to that woman have to be so complicated?”

Lorraine answered, “Because she vexes you so, love. Maybe you should put Fabien to work finding out what the official records have to say about Louis and your mother. Could be interesting.”

“It might be nice to have some sort of dirt on them. God, who knows what lies that woman has told!”

“Anyway, love, back to your story. I want to hear what happened to you and Dusty.”

Philippe sighed and continued. “I got the book and returned to the room. I read until Dusty and the girls woke up. I looked at Dusty and asked when we were going to the pawn shop. He rushed the girls out the door, kissing them and promising he’d see them soon. Then he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up. We were soon ready to walk to the pawn shop.”

“When we entered, Gus was smiling and happy. We waited until the only other customer in the shop left before we talked. Resell on the cuff links was 3500—more than Dusty had figured. We also decided to do the sale off the books, so it wouldn’t go on the official pawn records that Gus had to report.  He entered the whole transaction as cancelled due to the customer’s dissatisfaction with the selling price. After Gus’s take of 875, that left us with 2625 to split. That was just for one pair of cufflinks. I had decided to give Dusty forty percent because I could not have done this without his help. That was 1575 for me and 1050 for Dusty. Gus handed out the money to us and asked, ‘You indicated there might be more?’ ”

“Dusty looked at me and I whispered in his ear that I would like to talk about it. Dusty told Gus that we would be back in a while. We went outside and to the spot between the buildings where we could talk privately. ‘Okay, kid, what do you want to talk about?’ ”

“I looked at him and hesitantly said, ‘I’m not sure I want to sell everything. I’d like to hang on to some of the items.’ ”

“ ‘Getting sentimental? I understand. But you need to understand the risk. Word will get around and people will come after you to steal your bag. They are already going to be after us for this money. My idea was to sell it all and get a big payday, so we can get out of this place and away from danger.’ ”

“ ‘Where do you think you could go and how long would the money last? My goal is to be able to get by, and when I am old enough, use the money to pay for college. That’s what Harry wanted for me.’ ”

“ ‘I don’t know, I’d like to go south, somewhere on the coast with the Mediterranean.’ ”

“ ‘How much money would that take?’ ”

“ ‘The trip down there wouldn’t be much.  I could rent a small house or even just some rooms in a hotel. Then I’d like to buy a small fishing boat and take tourists out in it. Then I’d have a source of income. Let’s go back to the room and take an inventory of what is in that bag of yours just to get a general idea of how much is there.’ ”

“I thought that was probably a good idea. We went back to the room and I emptied out the bag on the bed and sorted the items Harry had given me from the ones of his I had taken. Then I went through the gifts and decided which things I knew I had to keep. I also went through his things and took out a couple of rings and the watch with the dog that I wanted to keep to remind myself of him. Dusty watched without saying anything until I had things sorted out.”

“When I was finally done, he started pointing some things out. ‘That watch with the gears is a Piaget. I know they are very expensive watches. Expensive like tens of thousands! And see the small gems embedded in it? And that other watch with gears is a Patek Philippe. Those are extremely expensive watches. A friend of mine stole one and he was told the value of it was several hundred thousand! He couldn’t find anyone who could buy it from him—it takes someone with connections to the black market to get anywhere near its actual value. Someone later stole it from him. And that one is a Chanel. Have no idea what it is worth! And this one with the dog on it is also a Piaget—see the diamonds all around the edge? I don’t know if Gus has the connections to sell these watches!’ ”

“I just looked at Dusty for a few minutes then said, ‘This one that is the Patek Philippe with the gears is the one Harry bought for me. See it is inscribed here. I am not going to sell it ever. And the Piaget one with the dog is the one he wore most of the time. I am not going to sell that one either.’ ”

 

 

 

_Patek Philippe Automatic Skeleton_

_Gold Watch $88,000_

_Piaget Altiplano, Limited Edition-38 numbered pieces, white gold, cloisonné enamel, 78 brilliant cut diamonds $66,000_

 

“ ‘Well, as I say, we probably couldn’t sell them if we tried. But if you are caught with these you will go to jail. I believe most of the very expensive watches have unique microscopically engraved identity codes that can be traced to the original owner and when the watch is exchanged or sold that information is updated. Now, the one that has the engraving, you might be able to justify by saying it was a gift. But the others? You’d be looking at significant jail time if caught with them. Remember, if anything is found missing that daughter will say you took it.’ ”

“ ‘Yes, I understand that. But she could very well steal some stuff and sell it and say I took it, so I’m in trouble either way. What do you suggest I do?’ ”

“ ‘You should sell the rings, tie clips, cuff links and other smaller items. We can talk to Gus and see what he says about the watches. He may know someone who has connections.’ ”

“ ‘But I’m not selling the watches, except maybe these two. They have no sentimental value other than they were in Harry’s jewelry box and happened to be ones I grabbed. I also think I don’t want to sell a lot of things. I think if I have a lot of cash that is going to tempt people more than a bag of stuff of unknown value. I think I want to sell just another item or two then sell stuff as I need the money over the next three years. Then I’ll sell the rest later to pay for my college.’ ”

“ ‘How are you going to get into college if you haven’t gone to school?’ ”

“ ‘I’m not sure yet but maybe I can take night classes or something. Maybe I can say I’m homeschooled—I was really. I will have to do some research to find out. Harry wanted me to go to college and I plan on fulfilling that dream.’ ”

“ ‘Suit yourself, then. Figure out what you want to take to Gus’s and let’s get going.’ ” I could sense Dusty was getting annoyed with me. I think he also saw money slipping out of his hands if I refused to sell everything as one big lot.”

“I knew that I could not trust him at that point and told myself to be careful. I picked out a couple of tie clips and a gold and green-stone pair of cuff links and put the rest back into the bag. When Dusty moved to pick the items up, I said that I would take them and scooped them up into my hand. I saw a flash of anger in Dusty’s face before he covered it up with that lazy smile of his. We went into the pawn shop and I laid everything out on the counter for Gus to check. I was going to try and take back control and make it my transaction.”

“Gus’s attention went immediately to the green and gold cuff links. He picked them up and announced that they were Tiffany and 24k gold and gem grade malachite. He got on his computer and did some searching and found the exact pair selling for 2000 new. He calculated that the used price since they were in perfect condition was 1600. I saw Dusty’s eyes light up at that. He studied the tie clips and realized several had 24k gold in the design. One was gold inlaid with rubies and diamonds, another was obsidian inlaid with the gold, and yet another was gold inlaid with malachite. Gus weighed and measured the pieces and calculated the amount of gold in each piece.  He figured the ruby, gold and diamond set was worth about 600 since the diamonds and rubies were very small and not top quality, but there was a decent weight of gold in it. The second piece was less at about 300 because the obsidian was a common stone with about 6 grams of gold in the piece. The last piece he put at about 800 because the malachite was of a high quality and there was substantial gold in it. He offered me 1700 for all three pieces for a total of 3700 with the cuff links. That worked out to 230 for Gus, 1110 for Dusty and 1665 for me. That meant I had 3240 (less the 20 for beer, breakfast, and the book.) Dusty should have 2160 less whatever he had spent last night. It was more money than either of us had seen for a long time.”

Philippe stopped talking to look at Lorraine who was gawking at Philippe and obviously had something to say. Lorraine finally managed to say, “I know what happened to two of those watches! You still have the one with the gears Harry gave to you and you gave me the one with the dog. I wear it to work every day! I never could figure out why a dog and all you would say is that the watch had special meaning to you. I never even thought to check on the value of the watch. Shouldn’t we get them insured or something? They must still be very valuable!”

“Oh, they are. I insured them years ago when I was in the band. I kept them in a safe deposit box that took me and my manager both to open because I didn’t trust myself in those days. Drugs will make you do stupid things and I knew I had to keep them safely away from me. Imagine the tragedy if I had taken them to some crappy pawn shop fiending for drugs and sold them for a paltry 50 each? The anguish when I was sober and realized what I had done would have sent me back for another round of drugs.”

Lorraine felt tears in his eyes as he thought that Philippe had wanted him to have the watch that Harry used to wear. Harry, the man who took Philippe from the streets and gave him an education and showed him that love was possible. Without Harry in his life, Lorraine realized that Philippe probably would not have survived.

Philippe smiled at the tears in Lorraine’s eyes, took another drink of his wine and continued. “Dusty and I stayed in that room for the rest of the week since Dusty had already paid for it. I put the money in the bag and carried the bag with me everywhere I went. I even slept curled up around it with my fingers wrapped tight around the handle. I kept waking up in the night, dreaming that Dusty was taking the bag away from me only to wake up to a dark, quiet room.”

“Throughout the week Dusty continued his partying bringing back a stream of girls to the room. He even brought a young man back one time for me that he had already paid to have sex with me. I insisted that I was too shy to do ‘it’ in front of everyone and suggested we go into the bathroom—grabbing my bag on the way in, of course. When we got inside, I whispered to the boy that I really did not want to have sex and that it had nothing to do with him. About that time Dusty pounded on the door and yelled, ‘It’s too quiet in there!’ I yelled back, ‘Can’t a guy kiss in private?’ He retorted, ‘I didn’t pay for kissing! Get on with it!’ ”

“I was in a panic about what to do when the boy started moaning loudly saying, ‘Yes, yes, suck me. That’s it.  Oh god yes!’ Then a few minutes later, ‘Stop, I’m ready to fuck you! Turn around, now bend over—brace yourself!’ Then he whispered to me, ‘Moan like I am fucking you, you’ve done that before haven’t you?’”

“Indignantly, I whispered, ‘Yes, I have.’ Then I let out a loud moan and an ‘Oh god, yes.’ ”

“He started slapping his leg and I grunted with each slap and hit against the wall. It was now his turn to moan and let out a loud, ‘Damn you have a tight ass.’ Followed by, ‘Oh god!’ ”

“We were starting to enjoy our little charade. He took off his shirt and pants and mussed up his hair and I did the same just in case Dusty decided to open the door. We grinned at each other’s naked bodies like school boys pulling a naughty prank. Now it was my turn to fake being sucked then fucking him. We pulled that one off, too. And were high-fiving each other when he saw the door handle turn and he threw himself at me, grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. He planted a big kiss on me, pushing his body against mine as Dusty opened the door. Dusty looked a little embarrassed and said, ‘Oh, I thought you two were done. Excuse me.’ And he quickly closed the door. We both had to choke down our laughter. We put on our clothes and I asked him if he wanted to go get some food with me knowing full well any kid on the street would jump at the chance to eat. We walked out with our arms wrapped around each other’s waist and me carrying the bag in my other hand. Dusty was laying on the bed with a buxom red-head riding him, but he still managed to yell out to me, ‘Don’t stay out too late!’ then started laughing. I hurried us out the door and couldn’t wait to get away from that room.”

“Once away from the room, I dropped my arm from around his waist and he did the same thing. ‘So, is he your big brother?’”

“ ‘Oh hell, no. I don’t have any family.’ ”

“ ‘So, why’s he paying for the room? Is he bi? Are you his lover, too?’ ”

“I wasn’t sure what to tell him and decided to just go with, ‘We just fell in together, is all. But he is starting to get on my nerves.’ ’’

“ ‘So, how long have you been on the streets?’ he asked me.”

“I sighed and answered, ‘Two years, and you?’ ”

 “ ‘I think six years. Sort of lost track.’ ”

“ ‘Yes, it numbs your mind all right. Anything special you want to eat?’ ”

“ ‘There’s an all-night McDonald’s several blocks that way. So, what’s in the bag?’ ”

“ ‘Just some personal stuff. Things from a friend that died. I keep them to remind me of him.’ ”

“ ‘Has it been very long since he passed?’ ”

“ ‘Uh, no. I’d rather not talk about that. Do you work alone or is there a group of you?’ ”

“ ‘Used to be a group of us, but those of us who haven’t died have slowly gone our own way.’ ”

“ ‘Working the streets alone is dangerous. It’s dangerous even when there’s a group. Don’t you get scared sometime? Like, what if my friend Dusty lied to you and really liked to beat young boys to death?’ ”

“ ‘You know, it really doesn’t matter. We all will meet our end sooner or later. I figure it’s just a matter of time for me.’ ”

“I recognized that sound of not caring anymore and momentarily that feeling of being dead inside washed over me. I shook it off. I had hope now. I had money. I just had to figure out the best way to use it. We walked the rest of the way in silence. I was lost in my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if my new friend was thinking or if he was just in a quiet funk. We finally came to the McDonald’s and I held the door open for him.”

“ ‘Get anything you want, it’s all on me.’ I told him.”

“ ‘Anything?’ he asked incredulously.”

“ ‘Yes, anything. I’m going to get a chocolate shake. Do you want one, too?’ ”

“ ‘Yes, sure!’ ”

“Then I realized my mistake and asked, ’How long has it been since you’ve eaten? You might want to take it slow. Last time I hadn’t eaten, and I stuffed myself and got sick.’ ”

“ ‘I ate yesterday. A guy gave me his half-eaten hamburger and an almost full coke. I’ve learned if you hang around here, people feed you—but you can’t be too conspicuous and hang out at the doors—the management will run you off.’ ”

“ ‘Okay. Just don’t want you getting sick. I think I am going to have the chicken sandwich and a small fry. That will stuff me plenty.’ ”

“ ‘I’ll take the shake and the small burger with a small fry, too.’ ”

“We were soon sitting at a table eating our food. ‘Oh, by the way, I’m Philippe. That was quick thinking back there in that bathroom.’ ”

“ ‘I’m Roy. Do you really not like to have sex?’ ”

“ ‘I don’t like to be forced into it especially by Dusty. The other night he paid a female hooker to have sex with me.’ ”

“ ‘Did you do it?’ ”

“ ’Well, he got me drunk and she was persistent. But it was in her ass, with me closing my eyes, pretending she was the lover I just lost. So, yeah, I guess I did but more or less on my own terms.’ ”

“ ‘Why do you stay with Dusty, anyway?’ ”

“ ‘I depended on him to help me transact some business. We’ve finished that, and now I am done with him.’ ”

“ ‘Done with him?’ ”

“ ‘Yes, I’m not going back tonight. I’m getting my own room. I’ll go back tomorrow morning to get the few things I left there while he is passed out drunk. Look, you can stay with me in my new room tonight if you want. I’ll get separate beds for us and I promise not to bother you. I’ve had enough of people forcing themselves on me and won’t do it to other people.’ ”

“Roy looked at me for a good long while, then said, ‘Thanks. It will be nice to sleep in a bed instead of on the ground.’ ”

“ ‘I’m fifteen, how old are you Roy?’ ”

“ ‘Fourteen, I guess.’ ”

“ ‘That means you were eight when you went on the streets. Where were you before that, if you don’t mind me asking?’ ”

“ ‘In a foster home. I ran away. Couldn’t take the abuse anymore.’ ”

“ ‘Physical? Sexual?’ ”

“ ‘Both’ ”

“ ‘I didn’t think about running away until I was thirteen. Not sure which is worse, putting up with bad foster homes or being on the streets. They both are different versions to the same thing—or at least the foster homes I went to were. But after the first rape, I decided I wasn’t going to let it happen again—even if I died resisting. Then on the street, allowing myself to be used was the only way to keep from starving. I wondered why I had fought it so hard. It just seemed inevitable. I felt so dead inside after a while.’ ”

“ ‘Roy perked up, ‘Yeah, I know. I feel that way a lot, too. But you said felt. You don’t feel dead inside anymore?’ ”

“ ‘Not like I used to. I feel hopeful most times now. I learned that sex can be good when you are in love with your partner. It can be so good. But it hurts a lot when you lose that person. Still, my love, Harry, gave me hope. God rest his soul. I wasn’t even allowed to go to the hospital or his funeral to say goodbye.’ ”

“ ‘Why not?’ ”

“ ‘His daughter wouldn’t allow me to see him.’ ”

“’Oh, I see.’”

“ ‘Well, I see we’ve finished our meal. Shall we go look for a new room? I think I want to get a cab. There’s a nicer part of town I think I want to be in.’ ”

“ ‘Catch a cab? You can afford that?’ ”

“ ‘Not all the time but tonight is special. There’s a street three blocks that way where the cabs run. They don’t like to come down this way, it’s too dangerous.’ ”

“We caught a cab and I found a clean, small, room to rent with two beds in it. The lady that rented it didn’t want to rent to two kids at first, but I slipped her a fifty and she relented. I paid for the whole week. After she showed us the room and was leaving, she ranted at us that we’d better not throw any wild parties or make trouble, or she’d have the cops on us.”

“ ‘We made no trouble at all. Roy was enamored with the TV and I read my books. We went out to eat and I started making trips to the library, sitting and reading books there. I watched people bring books to the counter and then walk out the door with them, so one day I went up and asked about it. She explained that you needed a library card and to get one of those you needed a permanent address and a utility bill or something to show that you lived there. So, I told Roy we needed to go through garbage cans to find a utility bill. He couldn’t read so I told him to look for any kind of official looking envelope or letter. We had to be careful because people didn’t like us digging through their trash. But after a couple of houses I found what I was looking for. I carefully wiped the garbage off it and let it dry. When it was dry, I folded it. The next day they gave me a temporary library card and I panicked when they said the official one would be sent in the mail. So, I had to hang out at my ‘new address’ watching for the postman to drop the letter off. The worst part was going through the mail to see if the letter was in there. Luckily, the people weren’t home during the day, but several neighbors were, so we had to be careful. Finally, a week to the day after I had signed for it, the letter came with my new library card in it. Of course, I had checked out some books using the temporary card, but I was so proud when I could present my new official library card. I felt like I was starting to have a real identity.”

“I was enjoying having a new friend, too. I knew Roy hung around for the free food and lodging, but I did enjoy his company and I thought he liked mine. There were a few times when he made passes at me and when I ignored them, he laughed and said he was joking. Finally, one day he said, ‘Don’t you find me attractive? I find you very attractive. I love your eyes and want to run my fingers through your hair and kiss those lips of yours. Why do you keep ignoring me?’ ”

“I sighed and looked at him. He had a somewhat cherubic face with rosy cheeks, a small nose, a rosebud mouth and large dark blue, almost violet eyes. He had dark hair like mine, but his was straight and fell to his shoulders.  He was as tall as I was but had a more muscular build. He would become one of those guys who only had to put a minimal effort in to get a sculpted body. Yes, I was attracted to him on a physical level. But I had made up my mind to avoid romantic and physical entanglements. My goal was college and I didn’t want to be detracted from that. A part of me was also afraid of getting hurt again. I wasn’t sure how to answer his question.”

“ ‘Roy, I find you very attractive, but I don’t want to get involved with anyone right now.’ ”

“ ‘Well, you already are involved. We live together. We breathe the same air. We do everything together. I thought our bond of friendship had developed into something else. I felt it. I thought you did, too.’ ”

“ ‘I do feel it, but I can’t act on it. If I do, I will get sidetracked from my goals. I can’t allow that to happen.’ ”

“ ‘Just admit it. I am not good enough for you. I’m just a beggar, a street kid. You feel like you are more than that—that you are better than me!’ ”

“Roy stormed out of our little room slamming the door behind him. I thought maybe I should go get him and bring him back. But then I knew where that would lead. I’d give in to the feelings I had. So, I sat there. Doing nothing. I hoped he’d come back on his own. I went back to my reading.”

“I had talked to the librarian and she had told me about a test I could take to get my high school diploma—a GED. She showed me to the information on what was on it and helped me get the books I needed to study for the test. She had grown fond of me and admired my determination and wanted to do everything she could to help me reach my goal of going to college. She even said she would write a letter of recommendation for me. The college I set my eyes on wasn’t a lofty one. A good part of its student body consisted of average students. It was more a charity college for bright students with little means. I would have the money but not the background. I was hopeful I could get accepted when the time came.”

“ I went back to our room and was surprised that Roy wasn’t there watching TV. I waited a while then decided to go get something to eat by myself. It was beginning to irritate me that I had to feed two people and I was draining my money twice as fast because of it. Roy had a big appetite, too. I didn’t eat a whole lot and certainly didn’t continue gorging myself after I had quenched my hunger. Roy was even putting on weight—getting a roll around his belly. When I got back from my meal and Roy was still not there, I read for a while, then turned in—always with my bag nestled beside me. I thought I heard Roy come in sometime in the night and go to his bed. I barely woke up, so I had no idea what time it was. ”

“ That morning, for some reason, I was groggy, and I went into the bathroom without my bag. Just a momentary lapse of memory for something that had become second-nature. As I was brushing my teeth, I realized my bag was not there at my feet and I went out to the room to get it. Roy had it on his bed and was going through it. He had already tossed out the envelope that held my birth certificate and had stuffed what remained of my money into his pockets. He was going through the rest of the items deciding if they were worth taking. I screamed ‘Stop!’ and ran over to him. A fight broke out between us over the bag. It was open, and items spilled out each time one of us tugged it away from the other. I was trying to kick him and was also hitting him with the hand that did not have a death grip on that bag. But as I said, he was more muscular than me and heavier. My grip on the bag kept slipping and eventually he yanked it away from me and kneed me in the groin. I fell to the floor in agony and could do nothing but watch him runaway with my money in his pocket and my bag of dreams. That was the last I saw of him and my bag.”

“When I finally was able to get up, I started gathering the things that had fallen out of the bag, I was very relieved that the two watches—the ones you and I now wear—were two of the items that had fallen out. Among the items scattered on the floor were the two favorite rings Harry used to wear and the ruby ring he had bought me. The other items were a small assortment of rings, tie clips and cuff links of varying value. I remember scouring the floor to be sure I didn’t miss anything, then removing the bedding and carefully shaking it out to ensure nothing had fallen and gotten caught up in it. And there was the envelope with my birth certificate and that small friendship bracelet made so many years ago by a boy I barely remembered. But it had come to be a reminder of my time at the orphanage—the good time before all the abuse began.”

“I sat down on the bed and cried. The only way I would go to college would be to sell Harry’s watches that meant so much to me. I also knew there wasn’t enough left to get me through the next three years no matter how frugal I was. I just sat there and cried, sinking lower and lower into despair. Then a thought came to me—or a voice in my head spoke to me—I was too faint from all the crying to know exactly how it came to me. I always believed it was Harry’s voice, but I seemed to hear his voice a lot in those days and I think it was just my frantic imagination. The thought was that I had two good hands, two good legs, a strong mind and a strong back and that I was now old enough to work for a living. I would need to go to the librarian, Mrs. Murch, and see if she could help me get whatever I needed to work.”

“ ‘I went later that day to the library and told her what had happened. To my surprise, she said she had a spare room she could set up for me. She didn’t have a bed for it but could see if anyone had a bed or even a mattress for me to sleep on. I told her all I needed was a floor and maybe a blanket, but she insisted she’d find me a small bed. The room wasn’t large, she just had some of her sewing stuff stored in there but could move that out to another closet or two. I had my current room paid for another two days. She said that would give her time to set the room up for me. I hugged her and thanked her over and over. The next day when I went to the library, she told me a friend of hers had a lawn service company and he needed some help. He didn’t care if I was fifteen as long as I could push a mower, rake leaves and dig weeds. He had told her he would pick me up from her house at six a.m. the next day.”

“Next, I went to Gus’s pawn shop and told him what had happened and described Roy to him. He said, if of Roy’s description came in with stuff to sell, he’d say he had to take it to his buyers and keep it overnight. Then I could come look at the items and see if it was mine. Then he would tell Roy that he knew the items were stolen from me and he had returned them to me. If Roy protested, Gus said he would gladly call the police on him. Of course, Roy never showed up at Gus’s. My guess was that he might have hocked one small piece for bus fare and then left town. I doubted that I would ever see him again.”

“From fifteen to sixteen I lived with Mrs. Murch and worked for the lawn service company. I had started hanging out at various local teen places and fell in with some musicians. We were all sitting around, and they were talking how they could play their instruments but couldn’t write a  decent lyric to save their lives. Just for fun I scribbled some words on a napkin and one of them teasingly grabbed it away from me and read it to the rest. They were all laughing and joking and making fun of me and I joined in with them because it was absurd for me to think I could write a lyric. But I had always liked to read poetry with Harry. I guess some of the meter and rhyme and whatever stuck with me because a few days later the guitar player came to the group and told them all to shut up and listen. He played a melody on the portable keyboard, singing my lyrics to it. He then replicated the melody on the guitar fleshing it out. The bass and the drums played with it and soon they had a decent song out of it. That was the beginning of my first band.”

Philippe stopped and took the last swig of hot wine. “That was the end of my childhood traumas and the beginning of my adult ones. It was also the end of my dream to go to college and make Harry proud. Unfortunately, those childhood traumas came back to haunt me as an adult—especially under the duress of a rock career. The wounds had never properly healed. It always seemed that no matter how hard I worked and struggled to reach a small amount of success, something happened to shatter it all. After a while I forgot about the love Harry and I had—or rather refused to see it as something good, and instead, saw it as just an old man abusing a young boy. Maybe that is what it was after all.”

Lorraine leaned over and took Philippe’s face with both hands and told him, “No, you are wrong. I can tell from the way you described him, and from the way you told me about what you two meant to each other, that you truly loved him, and he loved you. People don’t take care for each other like that if they don’t love each other.”

“But sex isn’t love. I think I confused sex for love with Harry.”

“And love without sex is not real love. Not the kind of love we are talking about. You love your family. You love your friends. But there is that special love that is only expressed through sex. The kind of love you and I have. The kind that most couples in love have. A couple may abstain from sex, but as their closeness develops, the need for sex grows until it is a must—or so I’ve been told. I’ve never abstained from anything and especially not sex. And talking of which, you spent a long time talking, love, and a lot of it was about sex.” Lorraine kissed Philippe tenderly. “I think it’s time we go to bed and show each other just uch we love each other. I think I want some of this sex you talked so much about.”


	61. Chapter61 Retrospection and Introspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lorraine ponders the tragic story of Philippe's childhood, he reflects on the kind of person he has been in the past and doesn't like what he sees. Lorraine also has to deal with the arrival of Nicolas in Paris and problems Nikolas is having settling in to his new modeling career. Lorraine is curious about Harry and asks someone on his research team to find out more about Harry--without asking Philippe if that is okay with him.

Lorraine woke in the middle of the night. Philippe had his arms around him and was holding him very close. Lorraine listened to Philippe’s soft breathing. Yes, they had had sex before falling asleep and it had been very good. But it had felt like Philippe was trying to prove something to Lorraine and Lorraine knew that was not necessary. Lorraine thought about all that Philippe had told him about his childhood. Yes, he could now understand the depth of Philippe’s hatred for his mother and understand why he would never be able to love her. Lorraine could now understand the dark and moody side of Philippe better. He had endured so much hurt and loneliness. It was a miracle that Philippe could love him as much as he did now. Lorraine also understood Philippe’s worry that something would happen to ruin this relationship since something always seemed to happen to destroy what little happiness Philippe would find. That had been the unchangeable pattern of his life up until this point. Lorraine knew that he loved Philippe totally and irrevocably. That love was going to break this cycle for Philippe.

Lorraine then thought back to his own past. In a way, it was Lorraine who was not deserving of Philippe’s love. While Lorraine had never raped anyone—he’d never had a need to because they all threw themselves at him—but he had abused his lovers. Not physically, but mentally and sometimes that could do more damage than physical abuse. Yes, he had everything to attract them—wealth, fame, and good looks—not to mention his wit and charm. If he wanted someone, all he had to do was turn his attention on them and they were attracted like bees to honey. But his honey was bait in a Venus flytrap. The minute he had them within reach, he closed on them and devoured them.

Yes, when his attention was drawn to some young, handsome man, Lorraine was dazzling. He swooped down on them and overwhelmed them. They walked on his arm into the fashionable soirees and basked in his reflected glory. They hobnobbed with the rich and famous—movie stars, writers, poets, princes and princesses—if people were famous, Lorraine knew them—he dressed many of them. Photos of Lorraine and his most recent conquest would be plastered in every gossip magazine—"Designer Lorraine finds a new love interest!” For the models or actors, being on Lorraine’s arm increased their appeal and boosted their careers. For an up and coming jet-setter, it increased his visibility and moved him up a step in the social ladder.

It was when they were in private that Lorraine took his payment in the form of sex. It was their job to satisfy his insatiable appetite with little concern for their own satisfaction. Lorraine realized that it had been very thinly disguised prostitution. If they kept him satisfied sexually, they could walk on his arm. And he was a very demanding “client.” No, he didn’t have to go to the street corners to find his conquests; he chose them from the social elite. And there was no love in it on Lorraine’s part. He used them then tossed them aside when he grew bored. The wise ones used their new-found sexual awareness and fame to seek out another rich and famous benefactor. The others floundered in rejection, and of those, most dropped out of the vicious social climb. Sometimes they harnessed that rejection and sought revenge by finding another social lover hoping to make Lorraine jealous. All that had done was make Lorraine laugh.

Occasionally, one of his conquests would leave him before he had gotten bored and while he was still enamored with them. Many times, they had secretly used their new-found fame to move up the ladder to a wealthier, better benefactor. That always stung—not because Lorraine felt any sort of love for the person, but just because he hated being duped. If he could, he would take revenge on them by dropping his own gossip about them. Poor lover, terribly needy, money-grabber, anything he could think of to make their star shine a little less brightly. But his best form of revenge would be how quick _he_ found a new lover and it was always one better in some way than the one who had left him. When asked about the previous lover he would say, “Oh him? He was just a passing interest. Quite boring really.”

When he had met Philippe, he was mostly curious. God knew, he couldn’t really be interested in a down and out rock star. Philippe was just not his type. The fact that their ancestors were famous lovers was intriguing and he had an interest in what this person was like. He even thought a brief dalliance might be a fun change of pace for him. Never had he expected to fall in love. But then that was before he had the Versailles dreams and realized he _was_ the Chevalier d’Lorraine and Philippe was his eternal love. He looked back and wondered. Was there some hidden remembrance of that love that made him compare his current conquests and felt them all lacking? Whatever the reason, Philippe had hit him like a freight train and swept him away.

What would Philippe think of him if he told him his story? Not his childhood. There was nothing remarkable in that. He had wonderful parents, a loving brother—no life-changing traumas. It was what he did as an adult, before he met Philippe, that could be called into question. He had been ruthless, uncaring, callous. And he had been that way despite a happy childhood. Where had all this maliciousness come from? Lorraine felt shame. No, he couldn’t reveal any of this to Philippe. That just might be the thing that would destroy what they had. Besides, Philippe had known about Lorraine’s reputation when they had met, and he had chosen to pursue Lorraine anyway. Why upset things now with a ridiculous need to counter Philippe’s baring all with his own sordid history?

Lorraine’s thoughts drifted to Philippe’s Harry. Lorraine was curious about Harry. He was thankful to Harry because he had come into Philippe’s life at a time when Philippe was broken. Without Harry there to pick him up and show him love, Philippe very well may have walked out into the path of an oncoming bus or met some other fatal accident. Just another dead street kid. Yes, Harry’s was a perverted love. Lorraine wondered how many other boys Harry had picked off the street and showered with gifts in exchange for sex. If he had not died, would he have sent Philippe to college and helped him become a successful young man? Or did his interest wane as puberty took hold and the boy started to become a man? It also upset Lorraine that Philippe had been treated by Harry’s daughter so harshly. There were so many questions. Maybe Lorraine should do a little research into Harry. With that thought he drifted back into sleep.

When the alarm went off, Lorraine woke up to Philippe kissing him. “Morning, love,” Lorraine said.

Philippe answered with another kiss. His hands moved down to clasp Lorraine’s very flaccid cock. “Love, I want to give you a proper send off.”

“Philippe, we don’t have time.”

“We’ll make time.” With that Philippe climbed on top of Lorraine and kissed him, slipping his tongue between Lorraine’s lips and increasing the ardor of his kiss while grinding his body against Lorraine’s. Philippe’s attentions had started to waken the fire in Lorraine. So, he’d be a little late to work.

Philippe put his hands on both sides of Lorraine’s face and held him for a deep, lingering kiss, then his hands ran over Lorraine’s body, the touch sparking fire wherever he touched. It was Lorraine who responded with a kiss to set them both ablaze. The hunger, the desire consumed them both and all other thought was driven from their minds. The feel of hot skin beneath fingertips, lips on the soft, vulnerable neck, lips on lips stoking the fire, bodies grinding together, all these things took over. Lorraine felt Philippe’s lips caressing their way downward. He moaned in anticipation. Philippe’s hands teased their way through the hair at the base.

“Oh, damn, Philippe, get on with it.”

Philippe continued his teasing as his lips made their way down Lorraine’s belly, ever closer. Lorraine moaned and pushed his hips upwards. Then he moaned loudly as Philippe’s mouth found him. Philippe knew exactly how to make Lorraine cry out and beg. His mouth and lips knew exactly the rhythm and intensity needed to bring Lorraine to the edge, then recede enough to make him beg for it. And beg Lorraine did, until finally, he could hold out no more and released his seed as the sweet sensations washed over him.

Lorraine was lost in satisfaction when he realized Philippe was not done, yet. Philippe had taken their “butt pillow” and put it under Lorraine’s hips and was now rubbing oil onto his buttocks. When Philippe’s finger penetrated him, Lorraine moaned. Of course, it was right that Philippe would fuck him now. He was ready for it when Philippe gently pushed his cock in. Even more ready when Philippe fully penetrated him. Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine, then sat up and began slow thrusting. Lorraine moaned as the intensity increased. He could now feel Philippe’s need taking over and grunted at the force of each full penetration. Again, Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s ankles and draped Lorraine’s legs over his shoulders. He could get more satisfying thrusts this way. Lorraine again felt the building of ecstasy—something was awakened in this position that brought Lorraine to unfathomable pleasure.  Again, multiple orgasms washed over Lorraine who made unintelligible sounds of pleasure while Philippe grunted as each thrust brought him closer to his own release. Then release found him as he moaned and felt the nerves in his cock send the waves of desire throughout his entire body. When the nerves had died down, Philippe gently let Lorraine’s legs fall to the bed and he collapsed on top of Lorraine fully satiated.

Lorraine gently pushed the dark, curly, hair from Philippe’s face and kissed his cheek and ran his hands gently down his cheek to trace the line of his jaw. “Love, that was simply amazing! Now as soon as I get some feeling back in this body, I have to get up.”

Almost on cue, Lorraine’s phone rang. Philippe raised enough to grab it and hand it to Lorraine. It was his driver waiting downstairs wanting to know if he still needed a ride to work. Lorraine told him he was just running late, and he’d be there in just a few minutes. Philippe gave him another long kiss after he hung up.

“Love, I have to go now. Thanks to you, I don’t have time to take a shower and now I’m going to smell like sweat, oil, and sex all day long.”

“Good. That is what I wanted. To leave my sex scent on you to remember me by.”

“You never cease to amaze me, love.” Lorraine gave Philippe a soft kiss, “Now, I really need to get up.”

Philippe rolled off Lorraine, so he could get up. Lorraine hurried into the bathroom and did a quick wash of his body with a wet cloth. He looked at his eye and decided to hell with the makeup. It wouldn’t cover much up anyway. People would just have to stare at him. But he did do a quick shave of his face. He couldn’t tolerate that stubble. He combed out his hair and put a little gel in it to comb it back away from his face. It wasn’t exactly the immaculately styled hair he usually wore but it would do. He went back into the bedroom to get dressed. Philippe watched his every move from the bed. When Lorraine was dressed, he went over to the bed and gave Philippe a goodbye kiss. He gathered his phone, keys and wallet and ran out of the bedroom to the front door.

When he was finally on his way in his car, he had a chance to breathe. He saw the driver looking at him and realized it was his black eye and bruised, cut cheek he was looking at. “I was drunk the other night and ran into a door. I told everyone at work that I had a fender-bender and that’s why I didn’t go in yesterday, so I would appreciate it if you’d go along with that. If asked don’t elaborate, just confirm there was a little accident and I went face first into the metal of the headrest of the front seat.”

“Yes, sir. A small accident—had to apply the brakes and you went flying.”

With that settled, Lorraine started thinking of all the things he had shoved from his mind about work. But through it all, he continuously thought of Philippe kissing him, caressing him, fucking him. He gave up thinking of work and thought of Philippe the entire way to work. When he walked into the House of Lorraine, he was met by a flock of people vying for his attention, but Leo came to the rescue and addressed the crowd to allow Lorraine to slip quietly into his office. On the way in he told his secretary to please get him a large coffee, black with two sugars, and a breakfast sandwich with sausage, cheese and egg from the street vendor a few blocks down.

In his office, he took a moment to breathe and get his bearings before attacking the large pile of files and papers on his desk. About ten minutes later, one of the runners brought in his breakfast. Ten minutes after that, Leo came in to give him the rundown on what was happening. They went over his calendar for the day—as he suspected, he barely had time for a break or two and a bite of lunch. However, it was the standing rule that no appointments were scheduled for the first hour. After Leo left, Lorraine had a few minutes to himself. He called Tom in the research department and asked him to please come into the office.

Tom was one of those young computer savvy millennials who could sniff out the truth and history of anything Lorraine could give him. Tall and lanky, with a head full of thick, brown hair, Tom came in and took a seat waiting for Lorraine to tell him what new mystery he was to solve. Lorraine sat, thinking how to put this and finally decided. “Tom, I need to find information about a man named Harry Montgomery Boncourt who died thirteen years ago. He was sixty and died of a heart-attack. He was very wealthy and was a retired CEO of a bank. He had a modern style house in a wealthy gated community. I don’t have much more information other than that. The only other thing that might or might not help is that I believe he had a history of taking prepubescent boys—probably twelve or thirteen years old—from the street and providing a home for them. It may be that many of his young boys went to college and became successful young men thanks to him. What may not be in the records is that in return for his generosity, he expected sex from them but most of them felt loyalty and love for him despite that. And I would like you to do this with discretion and report only to me.”

“And that is all you have to go by? Any idea what month he died?”

“No, but I am thinking it was during the warm months not during the rainy season or the snow or cold months—but I could be wrong on that. Do you think you have enough information to find something?”

“Probably. Thirteen years ago, there were good computer records, so I can probably do a computer search on the first name, retired bank CEO, and heart-attack as cause of death. I will l get right on it.”

“Thank you, Tom.”

When Tom had left, Lorraine did a search on his computer about something very personal and was excited when he found the answer he was looking for. He was shuffling through papers when his secretary announced that he had an unscheduled visitor—a newly hired model named Nikolas. Lorraine then remembered that Nikolas had flown in with the fresh vegetables and other food for the wedding present opening party. Lorraine’s first instinct was to say he was busy but then he decided to give Nikolas a few minutes of his time out of curiosity.

When Nikolas walked in, he caught Lorraine off-guard. He had forgotten how very handsome Nik was and how well he filled out his clothes. Lorraine had a brief memory of Nik fucking him in their room in Greece, making him writhe in ecstasy but shut that down as fast as he could. He tried to wipe all emotion from his face as he greeted Nik. “Hi, Nik, welcome to House of Lorraine. I hope you are settling in well here and in the apartment we have provided for you.”

Nik smiled at Lorraine with that dazzling smile of his, his face gloriously tanned, his eyes sparkling, his features finely chiseled. Lorraine also knew there was a very chiseled and well-endowed body under those clothes then chided himself for thinking such things.

Nik replied, “Yes, everything is very good. I just wanted to come by and thank you again for all you are doing for me.”

“Oh, you are very welcome. But really, I believe you are going to be the next big model and to be honest, we stand to make a lot of money off you. Of course, we are going to treat you with kid gloves!”

“Kid gloves? I do not understand?” And there was that delightful innocence in such a sinfully beautiful body.

“It is just a saying meaning we are going to treat you very well.”

“How are you and Philippe enjoying married life?”

“We are loving it. We can’t get enough of each other.”

Lorraine saw Nik was staring at him then remembered his bruised face. “Oh, I bet you are looking at my face. My driver had to slam on the brakes for a car stopped in front of us and sent me flying into the front seat headrest. We hit the car but not very hard. My face was the only thing damaged.”

“I imagine Philippe was upset when he saw you.”

“You can’t believe how upset he was.” Lorraine noticed Nik was nervous. There was something he wanted to ask and didn’t know how. “Nik, is there something on your mind? You can tell me whatever it is.”

Nik stared at the floor for a few minutes, looked up and started to say something, then stopped. Then he finally said in a low voice, “I miss my family. I am lonely.”

“Haven’t the other models reached out to you to make friends?”

“They’ve tried but they want to drink alcohol and party. I am not comfortable with that. You and Philippe are the only people I really know here. I just remember the good time we three had together.”

Lorraine did not know what to say. Surely, Nik wasn’t saying he wanted another threesome with them. No, this was not going to happen. He had promised Philippe that when Nik came, Lorraine would have no contact with him—that his other teams would handle Nik. If Philippe even knew Nik was in his office talking to him, he would get insecure and jealous.

“Nik, we can’t do that. I explained to you that I had other things to do in the company and you would be handled by my new-hire team. And getting you together with Philippe and I just can’t happen. What happened in Greece should never have happened. You are just too damned good looking and, to be very honest, Philippe and I can’t handle that. We are just too insecure. It would tear our relationship apart.”

Nik looked very dejected and Lorraine felt awful. “Look, try to make friends with your new roommates or with any of the other new models. Try again. They are all from a wide variety of places. You may find they are not too different from you. They are just coping the best way they know how. If, after a week, you aren’t feeling better come back and talk to me and we’ll figure something different out.”

“Okay. I’ll try again. I really am grateful to you and I don’t mean to complain.”

After Nik left, Lorraine called the lead of the new hire team to explain the problem. “Can you talk to one of the other new models—maybe someone from a similar background—from a conservative, large family—and give them a little incentive for them to be nicer to Nik and get to know him—befriend him. Of course, impress upon them that if they mention any of this to Nik they will be fired. Nik’s happiness is very important to this company. I expect great things from him. He just needs a little help in this transition period.”

Finally, Lorraine could get back to his work—but not before he thought of the things Philippe had done to him this morning. Now that was the way to start a day. And Philippe would be waiting for him at the door with his glass of wine this evening when he came home. Lorraine couldn’t ask for a better lover and husband than Philippe. Now to call Leo in and start going over some of the things he wanted to turn over to him, so he could get home at a decent time.

The rest of the day flew by as Lorraine was deep in work. Finally, he was on his way home and had time to wonder if he should mention that Nik was here and had come in to see him. On the one hand, why cause undo turmoil and worry in Philippe. On the other hand, if somehow it came out later that Nik had been in Lorraine’s office, and Lorraine had neglected to mention it, that could be even worse. Then he thought of what Fabien always liked to say, “Always the truth.”

As expected, Philippe greeted him at the door with a glass of wine, clad only in a pair of nylon shorts that gave a very clear outline of his “package.” Lorraine could not resist the urge to reach out and fondle that “package.”

Philippe told him huskily, “You know the rules. Wine and talk, first.”

“If you didn’t want me to handle your cock, then why did you wear those shorts that clearly say, ‘Here I am, fondle me.’”

“I thought you would have just a little self-control and wait until after the wine and talk.” Philippe was on his way to the couch, where the wine bottle and another glass waited. Lorraine followed sipping his wine on the way.

When they were settled on the couch, Lorraine began the conversation with, “Okay, I did some research and I know why I have multiple orgasms when you put my legs over your shoulders.”

“Research into sex? Is that how you spent your day?”

“Just a few minutes in my first hour in the morning. What is happening in that particular position is your cock is hitting where my prostate is located on the other side of the thin wall. It tuns out that when the prostate is stimulated like that, it acts much like a g-spot in a woman and can give you intense multiple orgasms. If you want, I can pull it up on the computer screen. There is a diagram.”

Philippe just looked at Lorraine, “So you used your work computer to research sex positions? What will your tech team have to say about that? Don’t they monitor the computers for those sort of employee abuses?”

“I had not thought about that. But I am the boss, so there is nothing they can say.”

“Okay. Anything else happen of interest?”

“Well, uh, did you know Nikolas from Greece is here now? He came in to see me this morning to say thank you.”

Philippe looked surprised. He had forgotten all about Nikolas. “I thought you weren’t going to have any contact with him. That your other teams were going to handle him.”

“They are, but he’s been here a few days and was homesick. Seems the other new models are coping by drinking and partying and he feels left out. I called the team and told them to ensure at least one of the other new models befriends Nik, so he doesn’t feel so lonely and out of place.”

“Ensure as in pay him to be Nik’s friend? Don’t you think that will make Nik feel even worse if he finds out?”

“Oh, he won’t find out. I made sure of that. And that will be the last I see of Nik until he starts doing runways. He has a lot of learning to do before that happens.”

“So, is he still as good looking and built as he was in Greece?”

“Well, I didn’t really notice.”

“The hell you didn’t. I can see it in your face. You can’t lie to me. Besides, I was the one who first noticed him. It was my stupid idea to invite him back to the villa with us. He is one hell of a good-looking guy.”

“Okay, so I checked him out. How could I not? But he wasn’t in my office for more than five minutes. Ten at the most. His looks are what are going to make him famous. My company is investing a lot of money into him because of that body and face of his.”

“Yes, I get that.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine softly on the lips. “Thanks love, for being honest. You didn’t have to tell me Nik had been to your office. The easier thing would be to have not said anything. Anything else exciting happen?”

“I just turned more stuff over to Leo, that’s all. My work load is getting smaller. And what about you? Did you do anything exciting?”

“Just got these thank you notes addressed and ready for us to add our notes to them. After we eat, of course. There’s still plenty of left-overs from the party in the fridge.”

“Let’s eat, then, I’m hungry. Didn’t get a chance to eat lunch.”

They heated up left-overs, ate, filled out thank-you notes, and Lorraine pulled up the screen that showed  where the prostrate was located and that explained it was the “g-spot” for men. As Philippe was looking at the screen and reading the notes, Lorraine moved up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. Lorraine moved Philippe’s hair off his neck and kissed his neck then whispered in his ear, “Shall I give you a physical demonstration, love.”

They shut down the computer, then brought their glasses and wine bottle to the bedroom. Lorraine pushed Philippe onto the bed and climbed on top of him, sucking and nibbling on his neck. Philippe’s hands were busy unbuttoning Lorraine’s shirt. Lorraine let him push the shirt off and it slid down Lorraine’s back to the floor. Their lips met in a soft kiss that grew in intensity as their tongues got into the action. Lorraine covered Philippe’s face in kisses—on his cheek, his nose, his forehead, down the side to the chin and back to his mouth.

“You don’t know how much I appreciate you, Philippe.” Lorraine whispered in his ear, then nibbled on his ear lobe.

Philippe had undone Lorraine’s pants and pushed them down. Lorraine raised up to help shimmy out of his pants then it was his bare body against Philippe’s almost bare body.

As Lorraine pushed his hips against Philippe’s the thin layer of the nylon of his shorts added a very erotic, satiny feel as their body parts pushed together. Finally, Lorraine pulled the shorts off and dropped them on the floor. His hands began slowly stroking Philippe making Philippe moan.  He moved his mouth down to take over from his hands, making Philippe shudder in anticipation. While his hands ran over Philippe’s body, finding his nipples and tweaking them, his mouth closed around Philippe’s shaft. Philippe was moaning and pushing his hips trying to make Lorraine move his mouth faster. Lorraine teased Philippe, increasing the intensity of his sucking bringing Philippe to the brink, then slowing down again.

It was Philippe’s turn to beg for it. And Lorraine made him beg, time after time, until finally Lorraine did not slow his intensity and brought Philippe to release as Philippe cried out “Oh god, yessss!”

But Lorraine wasn’t done with him, yet. He grabbed their butt pillow and slid it under Philippe’s buttocks. He oiled Philippe up and entered him, then moved in closer so he could put Philippe’s legs over his shoulders. He began slow thrusts until he had full penetration as Philippe moaned and moved his hips to give even deeper penetration. Lorraine kept a moderate, deliberate thrust going where he could continue the deepest penetration. When he felt Philippe’s body tense, he knew he was having the desired effect. He continued, holding tight to Philippe’s legs, as Philippe began to writhe and moan.

Now it was time to increase the frequency of the thrust. Philippe responded by crying out, over and over, “Oh, my god, yes! Oh, yes! Oh god, yes!” Lorraine watched with delight as Philippe continued crying out. Sweat beaded Lorraine’s forehead as he continued thrusting, holding out on his own release so he could allow Philippe to experience the multiple orgasms as long as he could. Finally, Lorraine could hold out no more, and the nerves in his cock fired, sending its seed into Philippe as Lorraine, moaned and cried out. He sat there on his knees, still inside Philippe, with Philippe’s legs draped over his shoulders as the sensations flowed through his body. Finally, he let Philippe’s legs drop to the bed and he leaned over and collapsed onto Philippe and crawled up to put his head on Philippe’s chest.

Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s face with both hands and raised it, so he could kiss him. “My god, love. I’ve never felt anything like that before!”

Lorraine was breathing so hard he couldn’t answer. Finally, his breathing slowed enough to say, “Now that is a good fuck! I am so drained I cannot move.”

Philippe rolled just enough for Lorraine to slide off him onto the bed next to him. It took what little energy Lorraine had left to move into a comfortable position. Philippe wrapped himself around Lorraine and they both fell asleep, drained and exhausted. It was a great ending to a day that had also started out great.

 


	62. The Fine Line Between Meddling and Helping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine continues to turn operation of his business over to Leo so he can concentrate more on designing. He works on designing clothes for Philippe's tour. His search into Philippe's past reveals very surprising news. Lorraine is excited to tell Philippe but worries that Philippe won't be happy that he did this search into Philippe's past without asking Philippe if he could do it. He plans a lunch meeting to give Philippe the news. Philippe's reaction is not the one Lorraine wanted.

Chapter 62 – The Fine Line Between Meddling and Helping

The rest of the week went smoothly. Lorraine was able to hand more and more things off to Leo and felt the burden lift. Philippe had gotten notice that the band was going to start practicing for their tour in two weeks. In four weeks, they had a couple of special shows to help them hone their performance followed by another week of practice. The official start of the tour would be in seven weeks. That meant that Lorraine had to complete the designs for Philippe’s tour wardrobe and get the clothes made. He had already worked on some ideas, but now he had to finalize the designs, get approval and get them made. He was glad that Leo had taken over most of the operations, so he could concentrate on designing. There was also the issue of Lorraine performing a couple of duets with Philippe. The tour was coming sooner than expected and was about to coincide with Lorraine’s international runway shows where he was featuring his Chevalier line. He had wanted Philippe to play at the shows (and possibly the band, too) and for the two of them to possibly do some duets for that, too. There were a lot of logistics to be worked out if these two things were going to happen.

To top it off, it was time to start planning for the House of Lorraine Charity Benefit. No decisions had been made as to the charity or charities to be included this year. Among the suggestions for an event were a historical-type masked ball or a costume ball with many different suggestions for the themes. Lorraine had always wanted to create his own charity but had not because there already were so many good ones out there, and it was just easier to donate to one of them. But after, hearing about Philippe’s childhood, Lorraine had been doing a lot of thinking about setting something up to reform the foster care and orphan system and/or something to benefit kids living on the streets. He didn’t plan on mentioning the idea to Philippe until he had more time to think it through better.

Lorraine and Philippe’s love life continued to be hot and steamy—just the way they liked it. Lorraine had not heard from Nikolas, so he assumed things had worked out and Nik now had at least one new friend. Philippe never mentioned him again and it seemed like he had put Nik out of his mind—which was good because Lorraine wasn’t the least bit tempted by Nikolas. Philippe kept him more than satisfied.

Over the weekend, Lorraine and Philippe worked on songs for their duet. Philippe made the comment that Lorraine should have been the musician because he had the voice of an angel.  Lorraine answered with, “I may have the voice of an angel, but I have the mind of a devil and this devil is thinking of something very naughty I want to do to you!” And the work stopped and playing began. There was a lot of playing over that weekend. Philippe seemed to be extra-horny which was fine with Lorraine. He had not enjoyed Philippe’s bout of moodiness over the fight with his mother and was glad that appeared to have passed.  It seemed like talking to Lorraine about his childhood had been good for Philippe. Still, Philippe was more inclined to give to Lorraine than to receive from Lorraine. Lorraine felt like Philippe still believed he didn’t deserve Lorraine and was just happy that Lorraine still wanted to be with him. In quiet moments, Lorraine worried if he should tell Philippe about his own “sins,” just so Philippe would stop putting him on a pedestal. They were both flawed men. But all men were flawed, weren’t they? Lorraine felt a little hypocritical for not being totally honest with Philippe. And he knew he was doing a disservice to Philippe in thinking Philippe wasn’t capable of loving him unconditionally. Several times he made up his mind to talk to Philippe about his own past but lost his nerve each time.

Since the turnover of the operations to Leo was supposed to be complete by Wednesday of the next week, Lorraine suggested that on the next weekend they take a four-day trip to celebrate and enjoy a change of scenery. Lorraine said it might be fun to take a trip south to the beaches on the Mediterranean. He asked Philippe if he would mind working with their travel agent to find what options they had, then together they could decide what to do. Philippe had no problem with that. He needed something to occupy him during the week when Lorraine was working. Soon enough he would be rehearsing with the band, but he had little to do the next week.

The weekend flew by and Monday morning came too soon. Lorraine was awakened by the weight of Philippe on top of him and by his soft kisses. As soon as Philippe saw Lorraine’s eyes open, the next kiss was not a soft one but a very hungry one. Groggily, Lorraine wondered just how long Philippe had been waiting for him to open his eyes. Lorraine’s brain was still foggy from sleep but Philippe’s next kiss (physical assault was probably a better word for it) was firing up his body. It was Philippe’s mouth on Lorraine’s cock that brought Lorraine’s brain to full attention—his body was already responding, even if his mind was slow.

“Philippe, what is the rush? Let me get the sleep from my eyes before—and the rest was replaced with a deep moan as Philippe, with a knee on either side of Lorraine’s hips, slowly lowered himself onto Lorraine. He leaned forward so he could put his hands on the bed to brace himself and bent to kiss Lorraine.

“Are you awake now, love?” he whispered in Lorraine’s ear before straightening to start slow hip gyrations. He moved his hands from the bed to Lorraine’s chest using him as leverage. Lorraine slowly ran his hands up and down Philippe’s arms letting his fingers slide over the skin. Lorraine started his own hip thrusts, timing them with Philippe’s movements. With sleep now totally gone from Lorraine’s brain, his body was catching fire as their two bodies moved in harmony. They communicated their increasing passion in a series of mumbled words, groans, and moans. Philippe’s hands gently clawed at Lorraine’s chest as he began losing himself in the moment. Philippe was the first to cry out, but Lorraine continued his thrusting causing Philippe to continue his moaning. Lorraine let out his own cry as his climax started to wash over him. When Lorraine’s hips stopped moving, Philippe leaned forward to lay on Lorraine and ran his hand down Lorraine’s face and kissed him.

“Good morning, love!” Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear.

Lorraine responded with, “Good morning. What a way to start a new day. You barely gave me a chance to come out of my dreams before you started fucking me.”

“Technically, you were fucking me. And I was just carrying out the dreams I had of you all night. I tried to be patient, but you just wouldn’t wake up.” Philippe placed his lips on Lorraine’s lips for a tender kiss.

“What time is it anyway?”

“We’ve got five minutes before the alarm goes off. I was getting desperate, love. Time was running out. Do you forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive. It was a wonderful way to wake up even if I wasn’t sure what was happening at first.” Lorraine pushed Philippe’s dark curls away from his face, so he could kiss him. “And you never need to apologize to me for wanting to make love with me!”

The alarm went off and Lorraine turned it off. “Guess that ends our cuddle-time.” Philippe moved in for one last loving kiss before he let Lorraine get up to head into the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Lorraine looked at his face in the mirror. The bruising was starting to fade but had turned that awful yellowish green. But that was better than the black and blue it had been. People had stared at him, and the teasing remarks were endless. The worst ones were the teases about him and Philippe fighting. He didn’t like to even think about him and Philippe fighting much less joke about it. He was glad Philippe couldn’t hear some of the things said to him in jest at work because Philippe already felt bad enough. He decided he had time to put some makeup on it. It had been so dark before that it was useless trying to cover it up. Plus, any pressure on it hurt. The pain was mostly gone now, although it was still tender. The cut was healing, too.

But first, he had to take a shower. He started the water as he brushed his teeth, then entered the shower. The hot water felt good on his skin and he was enjoying feeling it wash over him when he was joined in the shower by Philippe who came up behind him, put his arms around him, hugged him, and nuzzled his face into the back of Lorraine’s neck. Philippe whispered in his ear, “You know, I had another dream about us and the shower.”

Lorraine was torn between his desire to not be late to work and the desire Philippe was again stoking in his body. He gave in to the latter. “And exactly what did that dream entail?”

“You, on your knees before me, worshipping at my fountain of youth.”

Lorraine groaned. “Oh god! It’s too early in the day for bad metaphors!“

Philippe pouted, “I thought I was being romantic and clever!”

Lorraine turned to kiss Philippe. It started out slow, but Lorraine pushed him back against the shower wall and continued the kiss with tongue. His hands ran down Philippe’s body stopping to wrap around Philippe’s “fountain of youth.”

“And, just what do you want me to do with this ‘fountain of youth’?” But Lorraine was already on his way to his knees. Lorraine’s first reaction had been to remind Philippe that he really couldn’t be late to work, but then he knew they would waste time going around on that, with Philippe pouting and Lorraine giving in anyway. The most efficient thing to do was just to give Philippe what he wanted, but of course Lorraine wasn’t going to explain it to Philippe that way. Another pouting session would start if Lorraine used words like “efficient” and “give you what you want.”

Philippe asked, “Aren’t you going to be late for work if we do this?”

“This will be my breakfast, love. Breakfast of champions.”

“Now, look who is using bad metaphors! Oh god!” Philippe moaned as Lorraine went to work. It didn’t take long for the “fountain” to come to life since Philippe was still partially aroused from their earlier activities. Lorraine took his time because he didn’t want Philippe to feel like he rushed through it. Philippe had been so attentive to his needs lately and Lorraine wanted to reciprocate. Besides, he never got tired of pleasuring Philippe. And it was so easy to make this dream come true for his love. Others might not be so easy.

Lorraine knew exactly what to do to bring Philippe to release and soon had him moaning and grabbing his shoulders for support as the orgasm overtook him. Lorraine rose from his knees and pressed himself against Philippe. His lips found Philippe’s neck and kissed it, then he moved them to Philippe’s ear and whispered, “Is the fountain of youth satisfied?”

Philippe raised a hand to push the wet hair from Lorraine’s face and leaned in to give Lorraine a tender kiss. “Love, both me and my fountain of youth are very satisfied. Now you must get out of the shower and get ready for work. I’ve detained you enough for one morning. Are you sure you don’t have time to eat a proper breakfast? I can put something together while you dress.”

“What? And eat breakfast with you still naked? We know where that would lead. I’ll have my assistant get something for me when I get to work.”

Lorraine gave Philippe one last soft kiss, then got out of the shower and hurriedly dried off. So much for putting makeup on the bruise. He barely had time to do more than shave, comb out his wet hair and run a little gel through it to keep it from frizzing as it dried.

On his way out the door, Lorraine stopped again to give Philippe a quick kiss. “See you this evening. Don’t forget to call the travel agent.”

When he was finally in the car on his way, he looked at his watch. He wasn’t running too far behind. With good traffic, he might not even be late.

He made it to work just a few minutes late. He managed to slip into his office without notice since Leo was now taking care of almost all the operations. Lorraine was spending his first hour going over his schedule for the day and the week, when there was a knock at the door. It was Tom with information to give Lorraine. Lorraine waited anxiously as Tom settled into his chair and gathered himself for his report.

“I have found a Harry who meets your description. His full name was Harry Montgomery Boncourt. He died thirteen years ago in the month of August of a heart attack. The earliest records I could find date back to when he was thirty-five and beginning his climb to the top of the financial world. He was the benefactor to five boys from that time to his death at sixty. He took each of these boys in at the age of twelve or thirteen choosing boys from the street. He provided a home and education for the boys until they were sixteen. At sixteen, he sent the boys to a boarding school, Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in the French part of Switzerland. All five boys went on to college and became successful in the careers they chose for themselves. All five have nothing but high praise and love for their benefactor. There were no complaints of sexual abuse, although all five boys happened to be homosexual.”

Tom stopped to let the Lorraine process the information.

Lorraine asked, “Five boys? Was there a boy living with him at the time of his death?”

Tom shifted in his seat before continuing. “That is where it gets murky. I have found records of him taking in a young boy of fourteen. I have found doctor’s records where he had the boy vaccinated and treated for various, uh, diseases—diseases a boy on the street might get prostituting himself as well as skin infections and the like.”

“Do you have a name for the boy?”

Tom looked very uncomfortable when he answered, “Yes, Philippe Orleans. Uh, isn’t that the same name as your husband?”

“Yes. That is why I asked for your complete discretion. Was there any indication what happened to Philippe in the records?”

“That is where it gets interesting. Mr. Boncourt had left a will and in it he named Philippe as his sole heir. He specifically made it clear that his daughter Francine Boncourt, not be allowed access to any of his estate. They were not on good terms at all and she had tried to have him committed several times saying he no longer had his full mental faculties. None of her attempts were successful and only alienated them further.”

“Philippe was to inherit the entire estate?”

“Of course, not outright because he was too young, but Boncourt had set up an Executor, a good friend of his, to see that Philippe attended the Swiss boarding school and then college. He would take over his inheritance once he graduated from college with a bachelor’s and/or at the age of twenty-four. Unfortunately, young Philippe disappeared and has not been found. Not unless you believe your Philippe is the same young man.”

Lorraine didn’t answer and instead asked, “What has happened to the estate?”

“The Executor has kept control of it and maintained the properties and continued the investments awaiting the time when this Philippe could be found. The daughter has taken the estate to court to try and win a judgement to have Boncourt retroactively declared mentally deficient—saying he was a senile old man who was conned by a street kid and that she is the only rightful heir. His five young men have stepped in to take the side of the Executor and have provided testimony as to the intentions and mental acuity of their benefactor. She has spent a small fortune filing various other suits against the estate. She married a billionaire ten years ago who has given her the money for the court battles. She doesn’t need the money, but she still seems to be obsessed with getting the estate.”

Lorraine sat in stunned silence. He knew it was his Philippe, who was that missing heir. He realized how much it would mean to Philippe to know that Harry had cared this much for him. He shuddered to think what Philippe might do or think about Francine. He just had one small dilemma. He had undertaken this search into Philippe’s Harry without Philippe’s knowledge. He knew how touchy Philippe was about these matters. He just might get angry at Lorraine for not telling him what he was going to do. Lorraine had not lied to Philippe, he just had not told him what he was doing. He knew Philippe well enough to know he might take that as the same as going behind his back—an offense as heinous to Philippe as lying.

“Sir, do you believe your husband is this missing heir?” prodded Tom, gently.

Lorraine decided to tell Tom his fears. Maybe Tom would have a solution. “Yes, I am sure he is the heir. He told me about Harry and how Harry’s daughter had driven him away and sent him back out on the streets. Philippe has no idea he is the heir, though. The idea never has even crossed his mind. He is just sad that Harry died, and he was forced back on to the streets.”

“Then he will be ecstatic to learn Harry made him the heir.”

“Well, yes, he will be, however there is a problem. I didn’t tell him I was going to have you do this search. I am afraid he is very sensitive about this issue and may feel I went behind his back. I think he may be angry at me for doing that.”

‘Why don’t we feed this story to a reporter who can then ‘discover’ Philippe as the heir and publish a story about it.”

“Oh heavens, no! Philippe would not want this story to be publicly published and fodder for the gossip mags. And, if he ever discovered that I had a hand in that, he would be even madder at me. No, I am afraid I will have to tell him the truth—the sooner the better—and just let his anger with me run its course. But I do have one question.”

“Yes, what is that?”

“Philippe’s name has been out there since his band gained fame. Why hasn’t the Executor seen it and put two and two together already?”

“The original executor was Harry’s good friend and was sixty-two at the time Harry died. He is now seventy-five, in very poor health, and has Alzheimer’s. He has not been able to perform his duty as executor for quite a while. He has gone to live with his son in southern France. They have tried to appoint another executor, but Francine has blocked their efforts and has tied the matter up in courts.”

“I fear for Francine when Philippe finds out what she has done. That is just another reason to tread lightly.” Lorraine sighed. “Thank you, Tom, for getting this information for me. I would appreciate your continued discretion on this matter while I find the courage to tell Philippe what I have uncovered.”

“I am glad I could be of service and I wish you well in dealing with your husband.”

After Tom left, Lorraine was deep in thought. He had to tell Philippe as soon as possible but had to figure out the perfect way to do it. One where Philippe would have time to work his anger out without the two of them fighting about it. Then Lorraine came up with an idea. He picked up his phone and called Philippe.

Philippe answered, “Hi love! Are you missing me already?”

“Yes, I am. How about the two of us having lunch together?”

“Today?”

“Yes, today. I am still feeling the effects from our love making this morning and need to be with you.”

“Why don’t you come home for lunch and feed from my fountain of youth again?”

“I am afraid I may not want to go back to work if I did that. How about we meet at Gaston’s? They have a good wine selection and a good lunch selection. I’ll take a little extra time for lunch today since I haven’t been taking a lunch at all. I can bring some sketches for your tour wardrobe for you to look at and write it off as a business lunch.”

“I had planned on sleeping until noon, but if you insist, I’ll get up earlier.”

“I’ll send a car to pick you up and take you to Gaston’s. And I know you were already up. I can tell by your voice you weren’t sleeping.”

“What if I disguised my voice so you wouldn’t know I had been sleeping?”

Lorraine laughed. “Doesn’t matter. You are awake now, love. The car will be there at 11:30 to pick you up. See you in a little while.”

“Ok, if you insist. Bye.”

Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief. His plan was going okay so far. Get Philippe someplace public, so when he hears that Lorraine has gone behind his back to search into his private history, he will have to curb his anger to avoid making a scene. Let him go home and brood over it. Lorraine was hoping that Philippe would feel the news was so good that Lorraine could be forgiven for a little loving meddling. Or not. Philippe could brood and work himself up into a rage by the time Lorraine got home. Either way, he would just have to deal with whichever Philippe he came home to. And the day had started off so great!

Lorraine pushed these worries away and went back to his work. He now had a couple of hours to get the sketches of Philippe’s tour wardrobe done. He had several variations on the drop shouldered, loose sleeved shirts. He especially liked the idea of them having a very deep v-neck with grommets and lacing instead of buttons. The lacing could be left loose to expose the chest to whatever degree desired. He also loved the idea of the arms ending in a lace ruffle. He could just see Philippe’s slender fingers peeking out from the ruffle with rings on them. He liked the shirts they had worn at Versailles with the drop shoulder and two tiers of gathering on a very full sleeve ending in the ruffle. What he was going to change would be the material and color of the shirts. No white cotton for Philippe the rock star!

Lorraine had a vision of a deep blood red satin with tiny gold fleur de lis on it. A deep sapphire blue would also work with silver or gold fleur de lis on it. He wanted deep rich colors to highlight and emphasize Philippe’s pale complexion. His dark, curly hair would also bring out that paleness. Blue would emphasize his eyes, while red would emphasize the redness of those perfect lips. Of course, a soft, flowing dyed cotton of finely woven gauze could work just as well. Where were those samples he had? He should bring them to show Philippe.

Then there was that vest he wanted to make. He really liked the idea of an almost A-line vest like the ones they wore at Versailles that came down to about mid-thigh. He had two fastening ideas. One was a single row of large metal buttons all the way down to just below the waist that would not be fastened so the vest was left open. The other had a series of horizontal rectangular strips, sort of like enlarged buttonholes, beneath each button that would come together when the button was fastened. He had seen it on a vest that Louis had worn in the meeting with William of Orange. It looked good with the loose flowing shirts. However, Lorraine wondered how it would look without a shirt underneath and with the top three or four buttons undone. He saw it worn with a pair of colored leather straight-legged pants underneath, and of course matching boots. The vest would be made of a softer material than the stiff brocades of the Versailles era.

Now for the pants. Lorraine wasn’t sure about pants. Philippe preferred jeans or leather pants but that was so cliché. Lorraine had designed a pair of pants based on the ones they had worn at Versailles. They would be fitted in the waist with buttons instead of a zipper for the fly. Then they would be fitted down to just below the hip, where they would flow out into the loose billowy shape that would end in a buttoned cuff about midcalf. Instead of tights and those high heeled shoes worn at Versailles, the pants would end at a pair of leather boots. Lorraine was still trying to make his mind up about the material for the pants. Regular denim would be too stiff and wouldn’t work. Maybe a lighter denim or chambray in a black could work. He’d have to do some research on available fabrics. A deep navy or indigo would also be a great color.

In addition to those pants, he liked the idea of returning to the hip-hugger style pants fitted to almost the knee then ballooning out to a large belled bottom. Again, buttons would be used for the fly instead of a zipper. He had to smile to himself when he realized why the buttons appealed to him so much. They were so much more fun to undo on your partner than a zipper. These pants would be worn with the flowing shirts tucked in to the hip hugging waist. Maybe he should design a cropped mesh type of under shirt to wear with the hip-huggers. The top would be cropped to show off bare skin of the lower torso and belly. The top would be sleeveless with a scoop neck. He wasn’t sure if Philippe would like the mesh top, but Lorraine smiled to himself as he tried to envision Philippe in the mesh shirt and the hip-huggers. He had images of kissing that exposed belly that led to other images and thoughts he needed to put aside if he was going to get any work done.

Maybe he shouldn’t make Philippe so very sexy-looking. But wasn’t that the idea? To create a sexy, erotic rock god for the fans to swoon over? Lorraine sighed. It was one thing to see his hubby in such clothes in the privacy of their home, but another to envision a sea of chanting fans lusting after his Philippe. But that was his job as a designer—to create that erotic rock god. And it didn’t matter if he was his husband or not, he had to do his job.

Then there would be the straight legged leather pants with maybe lacings or buttons up the outside seam. Those would look good under the unbuttoned long vest and full shirt. Then he would add another pair of bell bottom pant with a smaller bell to them. These would have a higher but still hip-hugging waist and would be in a pin-striped material with buttons on the outer seam. He had an idea that maybe those buttons could be left unbuttoned for a unique effect. He would have to see how that worked.

He still had to do a lot of research on materials and combinations that would work. At least he had some decent ideas to show Philippe. He worked quickly finalizing the sketches and adding the material swatches he had already. He would start out with the wardrobe ideas then segue into the revelation about Harry.

As lunchtime approached, Lorraine’s stomach was in knots. He tried to calm himself down because he knew Philippe would pick up on his turmoil. He needed Philippe to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible. If he saw Lorraine was nervous, Philippe would get nervous. At about 11:15 he called for his assistant to get him a couple of glasses of champagne which he promptly chugged. He felt the alcohol doing its work, flowing through his body and relaxing his nerves. He thought about getting another glass or two but stopped himself. He didn’t want to be drunk—just relaxed.

He arrived at Gaston’s first and asked the maître d’ to find him a table that was in a quiet corner. When he was seated, he nodded his approval to the maître d’. He so wanted to order the wine, but knew Philippe loved to do that and so he waited. It wasn’t long before he saw Philippe entering the restaurant and being shown to the table. He was in a pair of his nicer jeans and had chosen a nicer shirt to wear instead of a tee shirt. The shirt was a royal blue and made Philippe’s eyes shine even bluer than normal. Lorraine sighed as he watched Philippe approached. He really did love Philippe. The sight of Philippe brought all those feelings welling up in him.

Philippe gave Lorraine a quick kiss before he sat down. He seemed in a pretty good mood. Lorraine hoped it would last. “I see you waited to let me order the wine. Thank you.”

“I know how much you enjoy it, love. How has your morning been?”

“It started off very good, as you know. I did call the travel agent and he is gathering some brochures to send over to me this afternoon. Then when I was thinking about crawling back into bed, you called and invited me to lunch. I still think you should have come home to have lunch in private. We still have leftovers from the party.”

“Oh, but I am tired of leftovers. As good as that food was, I am ready for a change. I am thinking about getting the Swiss and bacon quiche with a side of steamed broccoli and carrots. What about you? What are you in the mood for?”

Philippe studied the menu then said, “I think I will have the garlic shrimp over fettucine with a side of steamed asparagus. I think a crisp white wine will go well with both our meals, then.”

Lorraine nodded to the waiter who came right over to take their order. Philippe ordered the wine and his meal, followed by Lorraine giving his order.

With that out of the way, Lorraine picked up the portfolio he had set on the floor and took out his sketches to show Philippe, explaining each item in more detail. Philippe listened and studied the sketches. Then he pointed to the hip-huggers with the mesh top and vest.

“So, my stomach is exposed in this one? And did you say this was a mesh top?”

Lorraine answered, “Yes, your sexy stomach will be exposed. I had visions of kissing that belly as I designed it and had to stop because I was getting aroused.”

“It is one thing exposing it to you, but to all those screaming fans? I don’t know.”

“But you are the rock god. You are supposed to be sexy, so the fans can swoon over you.”

“Can’t I be sexy without exposing my belly?”

“Of course, love. Those pants work very well with those loose, flowing shirts tucked into them. We don’t have to do the mesh top if you don’t like it. These are just ideas, love. Choose what you like.”

Philippe gave Lorraine a wicked little smile, “So, tell me, love, are you still aroused?”

Lorraine didn’t get a chance to answer because the waiter brought the wine and went through the presentation to Philippe. After the wine was opened, Philippe took a sip of his wine and said, “You didn’t answer my question. Are you still aroused?”

Lorraine smiled and said, “I am always in a state of arousal around you, love.” He rubbed his foot against Philippe’s leg.

“You are just trying to get me in a good mood, so I’ll like your ideas.”

Lorraine answered, “How well you know me!” and took a long drink of wine before saying, “Seriously, though, Philippe, there is something I need to tell you.”

Philippe looked a little surprised at Lorraine’s sudden change in mood and asked, “And that is?”

Lorraine sighed and said, “Okay. After you told me about Harry, I had all kinds of questions in my mind.”

“So, why didn’t you ask me about them?”

“I didn’t think you’d know the answer. I am afraid I asked my research man to do a little research on Harry.”

Lorraine watched as those soft blue eyes turned a steely gray. “You did this without consulting me?”

“Yes. I really didn’t think I would find anything of interest, so I didn’t mention it. I didn’t want you to have to think about those memories.”

“Yet, here I am. Thinking about those memories and knowing that you decided to pry into my past, private life without asking me.”

“And that was very wrong of me. I know that. But listen to what I have found out. Philippe, Harry left his entire estate to you. That daughter chased you away knowing this, so she could get her hands on it.” Lorraine saw the surprised, incredulous look in Philippe’s eyes.

“You say, he left his estate to me? How can that be?”

“You would not have taken it over until you turned twenty-four. The Executor would handle it for you until that time.”

The Philippe frowned, “But the daughter took it all, didn’t she?”

Lorraine said, “She tried, but failed. Harry had stipulated very strongly that his daughter was not to get a dime of his estate.”

Philippe looked very confused. “But then, what happened to it?”

“It’s been tied up in court. The Executor was a friend of Harry’s—a Mr. Dupont.”

“Yes, I know him. He was, well, one of the ones Harry shared me with. Where is he now?”

“He has Alzheimer’s. He lives with his son in Southern France. They have tried to get a new executor declared but the daughter has tied it all up in court. That is why no one has contacted you and told you about your inheritance. Philippe, it is still there for you to take over.”

Philippe just stared at Lorraine in disbelief. Lorraine reached over and took Philippe’s hand in his but kept quiet, so Philippe could process this news. He saw tears forming in Philippe’s eyes. “Harry left me his estate?”

“Yes, love. You were more than just a street kid he took in. He loved you. I think he thought of you as his son.”

Philippe emptied his wine glass and poured himself another. He just stared into space trying to comprehend it all.

Lorraine finally said softly, “The Executor tried to find you, but you had disappeared into the streets. Then when you became a famous rock star, the Executor was ill and succumbing to Alzheimer’s, so nothing was done.”

Then Lorraine saw Philippe’s face harden as he said. “I don’t want it. I put all that behind me and it’s done. I don’t need it and it would only bring back too many painful memories. Why the hell did you have to go meddling in MY business?”

Lorraine meekly said, “I just wanted to help you—find out the truth of what happened.’

“Even if maybe I didn’t want to know the truth? That the truth might hurt me? Cause me pain?”

“But Philippe, now you know how Harry really felt about you. He loved you.”

“But he is dead. What does that matter now? I had learned how to accept what happened to me. Now, you throw me back into that whole sordid mess.  Now I have to deal with how I was cheated out of my inheritance!”

“But you haven’t been cheated! It’s still there, waiting for you to claim it.”

Philippe laughed without mirth, “Yeah. Now that I have managed to find a good life for myself. But where was that inheritance when I was starving on the streets? That’s when it could have helped me. Do you know how it broke my heart when those items I had depended on to provide me a means to go to college were stolen? How hard it was for me to know I would never become the man Harry had wanted me to become?”

“But Philippe, you have become the man Harry wanted you to become. I truly believe that.”

They were interrupted by the arrival of their orders. They sat in silence eating. Philippe glaring into space, anger seething inside him. Lorraine was surprised that Philippe seemed to have ignored his meddling for the most part. However, Lorraine was very upset at the anger Philippe was now holding inside of him. Lorraine would have preferred for Philippe to get angry, scream, rant—anything but this unnatural silence. Lorraine could see the storm raging inside of Philippe and feared what would happen when that storm came to the surface.

When their food was finished, the waiter took their plates. “Philippe, do you want dessert?” Lorraine asked.

“No.” Philippe took another drink of his wine.

They finished off the bottle of wine in silence. Lorraine glanced at his watch. The one Philippe had given him because it was the one Harry always wore. He really needed to get back to work but he couldn’t leave Philippe like this.

“Philippe, do you want to talk?”

“No.”

“Are you going to go home? I have to go back to work.”

“Then go. Call the car for me and I’ll leave, too.”

“We can talk when I get home tonight, then.”

Philippe didn’t answer. Lorraine called for both their cars and took care of the bill.

“Shall we both walk out together?” Lorraine got up and waited for Philippe to respond. When he got no response from Philippe, he went over to Philippe and put his hand onto Philippe’s arm. Philippe stood up and silently let Lorraine wrap his arm around his and lead them out of the restaurant.

“Looks like both our cars are here. Time to say our goodbyes until tonight.”

Lorraine leaned over to give Philippe a kiss, but Philippe turned so all Lorraine could do was kiss him on the cheek, “Goodbye, love. I will see you tonight, then.” Lorraine let go of Philippe’s arm.

“Goodbye,” was all Philippe said as he turned to go to his car.

Lorraine watched Philippe get into the car then turned to get into his own car. That had not gone well at all. Lorraine shuddered. He had no idea what kind of reception he was going to get when he came home from work. Rage? More silent treatment? Acceptance? He doubted the last option very much. Why did he have this damned need to meddle all the time? Why couldn’t he just leave things as they were?


	63. Consequences and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine faces the consequences of meddling into Philippe's past, then worries about how Philippe might react to the truth about his own past. Lorraine is shocked at the truth Philippe has discovered about him.

Chapter 63 –Consequences and Secrets

That evening on his way home from work, Lorraine was a bundle of nerves. The closer the car got to their home, the more nervous he got. He figured that Philippe would still be angry. Would he be as cold and distant as he was at lunch? Or would he be loud and angry, flinging his recriminations at Lorraine? Would Philippe calm down enough to see the good that could come out of accepting the inheritance from Harry? Lorraine had not gotten much work done after the disastrous lunch. He had spent the afternoon thinking about how he could repair this breech between him and Philippe.

Then he was at the door, ready to enter the house. He hesitated, then took a deep breath and opened the door. To his surprise, Philippe was there with the customary glass of wine. Lorraine smiled in relief and took the glass. The smile didn’t last long because instead of a reassuring smile, Philippe showed no emotion and turned without a word. So, it was to be the cold, silent distance, then.

Philippe had gone over to the couch and was pouring himself a glass of wine. Lorraine noticed the bottle was almost empty. He joined Philippe on the couch, carefully, like one would approach a sleeping tiger. Philippe was staring into the fireplace watching the dancing flames.

Lorraine broke the silence. “I came up with a different idea for that mesh top. It’s going to have long sleeves and will be long enough to just cover the belly button. But the surprise is that there will be a large gold fleur de lis stamped onto the mesh. I think the rest of the top could be dark blue or black. Just think how that would look under the lights, the mesh casting shadows on your skin and the gold shining in the lights—the whole shirt slinky and sexy. And you wouldn’t have to wear it with the hip huggers. Worn with a normal waisted pair of pants it wouldn’t expose much of you at all.” Lorraine looked expectantly at Philippe for a response.

All he received was a grunted, “Hmm.”

“And, I have a brilliant idea for the long vest—it will be made of dyed leather! Versailles style but in leather! Maybe I can find a way to emboss a pattern on the leather. I’ve got an assistant researching the different treatments that can be done with leather.”

“You like that research, don’t you?” Philippe’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Lorraine sighed and decided to just get to it. “Okay. I will say it again. I am sorry I meddled into your past. But really, in a way, it is _my_ past, too, because if Harry had not taken you in when he did, you most likely would have died and I never would have known you and loved you. I wanted—no, _needed_ —to know more about this person who saved you, allowing me to fall in love with you now. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, it is always about you and what you want and need, isn’t it?”

“Philippe, you are not being fair! It isn’t like I uncovered some awful thing. I found proof of the intense love that Harry had for you. You should be happy for that. I thought you would be happy to learn that. But you choose to mope around like a child—for _no good reason_!” Lorraine was getting angry at Philippe’s ridiculous behavior.

Philippe turned and glared at Lorraine without saying a word. Then Lorraine realized Philippe was trying desperately to hold back tears. His anger, his aloofness was just a thin cover for the anguish he was feeling inside. Lorraine did the only thing he could think of to do—he reached over and put his arms around Philippe who, at first, resisted. When it became apparent that Lorraine was not going to back off, Philippe stopped resisting and let Lorraine pull him in close. Philippe laid his head on Lorraine’s chest. Lorraine held him tightly not saying a word until he heard a soft sob from Philippe.

“Love, I know this is hard for you. To know that you were cheated at a time when you desperately needed help. The cruelty of being forced back on to the streets, of losing the only person who had shown you unconditional love is heartbreaking; and for the child you were, devastating! You didn’t deserve any of this.”

There was no reaction from Philippe, but Lorraine could feel the wetness of tears on his chest. “Yes, grieve for all that was lost, but also know that good can come out of this. Turn Harry’s estate into something that can take other kids from the street and show them hope and give them a new life. I’ve been looking for some worthy cause to get involved in. Why not set up an organization to help street kids? We could do it together.”

Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and was still quietly sobbing. Lorraine soothed him, “Yes, love, cry all you want. The memories are painful. The loss hurts even after all these years.”

Lorraine held Philippe for a while, listening to his soft sobs and stroking his hair. Lorraine’s heart was breaking, too. It hurt him to see Philippe in so much pain. After a while, the sobs stopped. Philippe raised his head and looked at Lorraine. “She’s going to pay,” he said softly, but intently.

Lorraine knew the “she” was Harry’s daughter, Francine. He had expected this but not so soon. Lorraine knew the look in Philippe’s eyes as he made that declaration. He was just glad the wrath in those stormy-grey eyes wasn’t turned on him. Francine had no idea what was about to hit her. Philippe was done grieving and was now in war mode.

Philippe untangled himself from Lorraine and reached for his wine. “I need to open another bottle for us.” He drained his glass and went to get a new bottle. After opening it, he brought it to the couch and poured him another glass and topped off Lorraine’s glass. “Which lawyers do we need to use for this?”

“It needs to be someone very well versed in estate law. My current lawyers don’t have that expertise and I don’t think your lawyers do either. I will ask my lawyer to recommend a good estate lawyer for you tomorrow. I will then have the estate lawyer contact you. I’ll have Tom write up a written report of what he found and give it to you.”

“Do you really think we could set up an organization to help street kids?”

“Yes, I do. Maybe you could turn Harry’s house into a home for street kids—only if you want, of course.”

“I think Harry would have liked that. You know he was a pedophile, don’t you? It’s been hard for me to face that fact, but I’ve had to do it.”

“Yes, that is the technical term for it. But he did his best to make something good of his affliction. He chose kids who already knew abuse and were in dire need of help. He took them in—including you—and nurtured them, educated them and loved them. He saved six young lives from the streets and gave all of you a home, an education, and a life. But he didn’t force himself onto you, did he? He let you come to him. And, yes, a sixty-year-old man having sex with a thirteen-year-old is considered a crime and heinous to many. Would you have turned him in?”

“No, of course not. I loved him.”

“And he loved you enough to will you his estate. Sometimes things happen in life that defy conventional rules, but that is not always a bad thing. Sometimes the rules need to be broken.”

“So, tell me about this organization you were talking about.”

“There are several aspects to it. First, we need to change the foster system to where children are safe in it. There needs to be better laws that are enforced. To enforce the laws will take funding to hire enough people to oversee the number of children in foster care. This is all government funded and run so our efforts will have to be to raise awareness of the need for reform and to see that conscientious people are elected to power.”

“I wonder if my brother would be interested in adding this to his agenda? We’ll make a progressive candidate out of him, yet.”

“I am not sure I trust your brother. He may run on an agenda, but will he carry it out when he gets in power? We might need to find someone else who already embraces these ideals.”

“Yes, you are right on that. I don’t trust my brother, either.”

“Now, the second aspect of our organization would be to create a place or places for street kids to live. Places where they receive an education and have a safe and wholesome environment in which to live. This could be difficult because, to survive, these kids have learned to steal, lie and do whatever it takes. Just because we take them off the street and put them in a nice safe environment, it doesn’t mean the kid is going to be appreciative or even follow the rules. They will need counseling and people educated in the proper way to counsel these kids. That’s a lot of ground to cover.”

“Yeah, how do we deal with kids who have had such a terrible home life they are ‘damaged?’ I’ve known a lot of kids who would not want to go into any type of a home. They believe they are better off on the street and do not want to lose their ‘freedom.’ ”

“That is a difficult question—one I don’t know the answer to except to say maybe provide things to help them survive on the streets, clothing, food, showers, in the hope their trust could be won. The third aspect to look at would be how to prepare these kids for college and a successful career of their choosing.”

“Yes, it all makes sense, but what you are suggesting will take a lot of work. I know I won’t have the time to dedicate to such an intensive effort.” Philippe looked defeated.

“Maybe we should just approach this from a funding point of view. Search for people already out there trying to do this and give them funding. Or maybe we could get them working together with us providing funding and direction. We could handle that, I think.”

“Yes,  I think that is an excellent idea. Using Harry’s money to fund these types of organizations would do a lot of good and I could handle that.”

Lorraine was so happy to see Philippe excited and smiling again. He had gotten past his grief and now could move on. Not, Lorraine thought, that the grief was gone. You never get over the loss of someone you love. You just learn how to handle it and that gets easier with the passage of time that tends to lessen the raw edge of it that consumes you in the beginning.

“Philippe, would you mind if I put the people I hire to handle the House of Lorraine Annual Charity Benefit to search for people already carrying out work for street kids and abused teens? We could make it the central theme to this year’s benefit.”

Philippe looked at Lorraine a little suspiciously, then answered. “Yes, I think that would be great.”

“I don’t want to seem like I am taking this over and will be sure to include you as much as possible in the whole process. Maybe we could call our organization the Philippe Orleans Street Kid Project or some other name with that same idea.”

“Or how about the Harry Montgomery Boncourt Project?”

“That would be a good name, too. We’ll have to see what suits it best when we know better which direction it will take.”

Philippe then said, very seriously, “Lorraine, please love, do not _ever_ meddle into my private past without consulting me first. I can overlook this, one time, since it has had such good results, but _don’t_ do it again.”

“Overlook? Not forgive?” Lorraine was going to argue but saw the look on Philippe’s face and relented. “Okay, love, I understand and promise.”

Philippe then said, “How would you feel if I decided to do research—without telling you—into one of your past love affairs on the premise that I needed to understand it, so I could love you better? I don’t think you would like that at all.”

And there it was. Lorraine’s chance to open the door to telling Philippe about the sins of his past.

“I, uh, wouldn’t like it. Do you ever feel the need to do that? To understand who I was before I met you?”

“Oh, I know perfectly well who you were before we met—the great breaker of hearts. The one everyone wanted on their arm. The key to climbing the social ladder.”

“And knowing that doesn’t bother you at all?”

“No, I knew my Chevalier was in there somewhere and that I had to bring him out.”

“But even though you did find your Chevalier in me, I still was that ‘great breaker of hearts’ as you put it for a great many years. Just as your experiences in this life has affected the Philippe I knew from Versailles, so this life has affected me, your Chevalier from Versailles. Doesn’t it ever worry you, this person that I was in this life?”

Philippe’s face darkened, “Are you _trying_ to upset me?”

“No, love. It is just that you have bared your soul to me and I have yet to do the same for you. Do you need me to?”

Philippe looked puzzled and worried. “Is there some dark secret you have to tell me?”

“Just that I am not perfect, love. You tend to put me on a pedestal. Your Chevalier who can do no wrong.”

Philippe then burst out laughing. “Since when was my Chevalier the one who could do no wrong? Think on it. The jealousy, the conniving, the going against the king. You, my Chevalier, were never innocent! Do you think I didn’t know the things you did when I was away at war? That you couldn’t stay celibate for any length of time. I loved you despite your many, many flaws!”

Lorraine had not expected that reaction. “But I. . . I mean. . . uh, do I really have that many flaws?”

Philippe smiled and kissed Lorraine’s forehead lightly putting his hand on the back of his head. “I forgot to list your meddling in other people’s business. Don’t deny it. That was your greatest tool in keeping your head at court—your ability and desire to know everyone’s little secrets. And it is still strong in you now.”

Lorraine just sat there in shock. If Philippe knew and understood all these things about him, how could he love him so deeply and without reservation? “You know these things about me, yet you love me still?”

“Isn’t that what you refer to as ‘unconditional love’? You know me and my faults, too. That I am moody and quick to anger. That I am skeptical and mistrusting. I told you about my childhood, so you could understand the things I have been through. But I was this way at Versailles. This is who I am and continue to be, yet you still love me, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I do. I guess I just thought since you had bared your soul that I should bare mine as well.”

“And what is it that you would bare? Some dark secret from your childhood?”

“No, that’s the thing. I had a wonderful childhood. I had a wonderful family who loved me and supported me. Even when I shocked everybody and invited my ‘best friend’ to a big dance and they realized my sexual preferences for the first time. There was no reason for me to become the malicious person I became as an adult, when I gained fame and power as the great designer of the House of Lorraine. My family never understood why I had so many lovers and why I discarded them so easily. It broke their hearts to see me behave like that. Where did this person come from? I can’t say that there was some great first love that betrayed me and turned me against love, either.”

“So, why did you do it?”

“I have absolutely no idea.”

“What would you say if I said I knew.”

Lorraine was shocked. “You think you know why I acted that way when I don’t even know myself?”

“Oh, I think you know, but you won’t admit it to yourself.”

“Okay, then tell me this thing I won’t admit to myself.”

“You were caught up in the climb to the top. At first, you did it because you saw the necessity of attracting people you could use to further your career. Then, when you saw how malicious you had become, you feared some sort of moral payback. You wouldn’t—couldn’t allow yourself to care for those you made lovers. You used them. You shut off all emotion because if you dared to care, then you dared to be hurt. And you feared to be hurt above all else. It was that same fear that drove a lot of what you did at Versailles. My love, deep down, you are a very insecure person.”

Lorraine wanted to protest, to deny the truth of what Philippe was saying, but he couldn’t find the words. How could Philippe say these things about him? All Lorraine could do was look at Philippe with surprise and hurt in his eyes. Philippe gently grabbed Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed his lips.

“Love, even now, you are in denial. You want to tell me I am wrong. But you can’t. Because you know the truth. And love, I don’t care if you admit it or you deny it. It is part of why I love you. It was what puzzled me about you at first until I finally figured it out. And I am not saying that your insecurity does not sometimes drive me absolutely mad. It does. But that is just part of loving you.”

Philippe put his mouth on Lorraine’s lips and kissed him—a kiss that showed Lorraine just how much Philippe loved and wanted him—a kiss to stoke the fires of passion in Lorraine. Lorraine responded because he knew, he too, loved Philippe unconditionally. And, yes, he was insecure—so very, very insecure—and the only time he felt secure was in Philippe’s arms.

 


	64. Never Question Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Philippe's passion increases, he and Lorraine worry about their separation during the upcoming tour. Lorraine solidifies his plans for the release of the Chevalier line with visions of Baroque-style golden opulence to rival and surpass even the palace at Versailles.

Lorraine sat in his office looking at the sketches before him, but his thoughts kept wandering back to the night before. He and Philippe had ended their fight over Lorraine’s meddling into Philippe’s past with Harry. Lorraine had even gotten over Philippe telling him he was insecure—because Lorraine knew that Philippe was right. Lorraine might be master of his fashion design world, but when it came to love he knew he was very insecure just as Philippe had said. It was what had happened after Philippe had said those words that he couldn’t forget. He had snuggled into Philippe’s arms seeking comfort and security, but Philippe had other things in mind. Those things involved inflaming Lorraine’s desire like he had never done before. Yes, there was the same kissing, the same stroking and touching, but there had been an intensity in Philippe that Lorraine had not felt before. Philippe had been unrelenting in his physical assault on Lorraine. His deep and passionate kisses had inflamed Lorraine’s mind and body as Philippe pressed his body against him. Philippe’s hands and mouth had plied Lorraine’s flesh until he was so full of desire he could only moan and cry and beg Philippe for release. When he had thought he could take no more, Philippe had brought him to sweet release with his mouth and tongue.

When he lay drained, his heart pounding and his flesh still burning, Philippe had begun again, only this time Philippe was intent on fucking him. Yet, Philippe had taken his time and had stroked, caressed and kissed Lorraine arousing him all over again. When Philippe had finally entered Lorraine, they were both laying on their side with Philippe behind him. Philippe had his arms wrapped tightly around Lorraine’s chest and his face buried in the side of Lorraine’s neck, sucking and biting him as he had pushed himself into Lorraine. Again, Philippe had been relentless, driving Lorraine into a frenzy of guttural grunts, moans and cries as Philippe had thrust again and again. Philippe’s hands had moved from Lorraine’s chest to his cock,  stroking it in time with his own thrusts. That had caused Lorraine to cry out once more in pleasure, still Philippe had continued. Then Philippe had pushed Lorraine face down on the bed and had pulled Lorraine’s hips up with him as he rose to his knees. After a few intense, hard thrusts, Philippe had finally cried out as his seed spilled into Lorraine. A few more thrusts and a very exhausted, sweaty and panting Philippe had collapsed on top of Lorraine with an extended moan. After a few minutes, Philippe had rolled off Lorraine allowing him to turn—it had been just in time because Lorraine had thought he was about to suffocate pinned face down on the bed under Philippe’s weight.

Lorraine had turned to face Philippe and saw just how heavily Philippe was breathing. Lorraine had put his arm around Philippe’s waist and felt Philippe sweaty and hot flesh under his skin. Philippe had managed to say, “Too hot… please don’t touch… too hot.” Lorraine had removed his arm and had instead leaned over, pushed Philippe’s wet, sweaty hair away from his face and had kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“You out did yourself, love. That was amazing,” Lorraine remembered saying.

Philippe had tried to answer but he was still breathing too hard. What came out of his mouth had been unintelligible. Lorraine had raised himself on one elbow and had looked lovingly at Philippe. How he loved that pale, now flushed skin. When Philippe’s eyes fluttered open now and again, they had been a deep, deep blue, darkened by passion. Philippe’s full soft lips had been red and swollen. Lorraine had wanted so bad to kiss and suck on that long, graceful neck. His skin would have tasted deliciously salty and would have felt warm to his lips and tongue, but he had honored Philippe’s request not to be touched. Lorraine remembered studying that quickly rising and falling pale chest with its covering of curling dark hair trailing down to Philippe’s soft belly, then continuing down to spread around the base of Philippe’s now limp cock. He had almost been able to see the heat still emanating from him and it was only Philippe’s admonishment to not touch that had kept him from doing just that.

“Love, do you want me to get you some wine or water to drink. You must be very thirsty,” he had asked.

“Wine . . . please,” Philippe had panted. Lorraine had risen from the bed. There had been a bottle of wine on the nightstand and two glasses half full, but it was now hot. He had gone to the kitchen and had pulled out a chilled already opened, but re-corked, bottle of white wine. This would be perfect he had thought as he removed the stopper and reached for two glasses. He went back to the bedroom and had put the bottle and glasses on the nightstand closest to him. He had climbed into bed then asked Philippe to raise his head enough for Lorraine to shove a couple of pillows under it. With Philippe’s head and shoulders raised, Lorraine had poured the wine and handed him the glass. Philippe had drunk it greedily and had handed the empty glass back to Lorraine to refill—which Lorraine had done.

“Thanks, another glass, please.” That one Philippe had sipped as Lorraine poured himself a glass which he had also sipped.

“Where did all that passion come from, love?”

“I don’t know. I just felt it all bottled up inside me and I had to let it out.”

“Well, I’m glad you let it out on me. My whole body is still tingling. Is the wine cooling you off any? You were on fire, literally—well, almost.”

“Yes, the wine is helping.”

“Let me know when I can touch you again because I want to run my hands over your face and kiss you softly.”

“You want to start this all over again?”

“No, I want to end it properly. With tender kisses and touches. And I want to curl up next to you and hold you until we fall asleep.”

“Yes, sleep. Sleep is good.” Philippe had finished off the third glass of wine. “We can sleep now.”

“Can I touch you?”

“Yes.” Philippe had reached over and pulled Lorraine to him. Lorraine had bent and kissed him tenderly. He ran his fingertips around Philippe’s face, gently touching his eyelashes, his nose, his lips, his chin. Philippe’s eyes had closed. Lorraine had taken the empty wine glass gently from his hand and put it on the nightstand. Lorraine had drunk his glass of wine and poured the last of the wine into his glass and had drunk that down, too. He turned off the light and had snuggled up to Philippe, laying his arm gently over his belly.

“Night, love.” But Philippe had never heard him.

The next morning, Philippe had not stirred when the alarm clock went off. Lorraine had gotten up and taken a shower. Philippe had still been asleep when Lorraine was ready to leave. He had leaned over and kissed Philippe’s mouth softly, then left him.

As Lorraine sat at the desk in his office, starring at the same sketch for the longest time while his mind kept going back to the night before, he felt the tightening in his pants. “Okay,” he told himself. “You are not some love-struck teenager daydreaming about his love. You are a man with a man’s business to run.” He decided he needed to take a walk, stretch his legs, clear his mind—force his unruly member back into dormancy.

Leo looked up and saw his boss walking around and jumped up to see if there was anything he needed. “No, just needed a breath of fresh air. Is everything going well with you? You have done an excellent job, you know.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“No, I thank you for stepping up. Now where is that coffee pot?”

“Oh, sir, you don’t want to drink what’s in that pot. It is awful. Go ask your assistant, he will make you some coffee fresh from your own machine.”

“Okay, if you say so. Thanks for the advice.”

On his way back to his office he stopped to ask his assistant for coffee, black with two sugars. Then he was back in his office staring at the sketches again. He forced himself to concentrate and was startled when his assistant came in with his coffee. He thought to himself, “Maybe don’t concentrate quite that hard.” He finally got his mind on his work and buried himself in it until his assistant came in to ask him if he was going to take a lunch. He had an insane urge to go home for lunch but knew that was a terrible idea. Well, maybe he did need a little lunch-time sex. He decided to surprise Philippe and not call him. He called his assistant and said he was taking a lunch, possibly a long one, then called his car.

On the ride home, he debated with himself whether Philippe would still be in bed or not. Based on his dead sleep this morning, Lorraine decided it would be a good bet that Philippe would still be in bed. All the better, then. He could give him a surprise awakening. When he opened the door, he was not surprised that there was no Philippe in sight. As he put his keys on the counter, he noticed a stack of brochures on the table. Philippe had obviously been in contact with the travel agent. He walked softly back to their bedroom and quietly opened the door. The bed was empty. There was no noise coming from the bathroom, but he called out anyway, “Philippe, are you in the bathroom?” There was no answer.

It was now obvious that Philippe was not home. Well, Philippe wasn’t required to check in with him throughout the day. Lorraine really should have called first. The he debated whether to call Philippe. He knew he wouldn’t be satisfied until he did. There was that nosy streak in him Philippe had told him about. He had to know everything; there could be no secrets. Well, he was who he was, and he had to know where Philippe was. He hit the button for Philippe and waited impatiently while it rang.

“Hi, love,” he heard Philippe answer. He could hear people talking and noises in the background.

He tried to answer nonchalantly, “Hi, love, missed you this morning. You didn’t even flinch when I kissed you goodbye.”

“I was really out of it, sorry. I guess I exhausted myself making love to you.”

Lorraine answered, “And what great love making that was. I haven’t had sex that great in, hell, maybe never.”

“Guess I just keep getting better, don’t I? How is work going today?”

Now Lorraine felt guilty. Philippe thought he was at work and Lorraine knew he was going to leave it that way. “It’s going well enough. I’ve had a hard time concentrating. I keep thinking back to last night.”

“Maybe I should come by your office. We can shut the door and have a lunchtime quickie. I could come as soon as Fabien and I finish our lunch. I could bring you something to eat if you want—food that is.” Lorraine could feel Philippe’s sly smile over the phone.

“No, that is okay, my assistant is getting me some food. I can wait until tonight—barely—but I can wait. You and Fabien enjoy your lunch. I need to get back to work. Bye, love.”

“Bye, love. Stop thinking about my cock and get some work done.”

Lorraine heard the click ending the call. Of course, Philippe was with Fabien. There were any number of people Philippe could have been legitimately with. Why did Lorraine have to be so suspicious? Because he had once been the sort of lover that snuck around, that was why. He called his driver and left, locking up behind him.

That night, Lorraine and Philippe worked on their duets. Philippe accompanied them on the keyboard sitting in his chair. Lorraine stood behind him with his hands upon Philippe’s shoulders. They had just finished their first successful run through of the first song. They stopped to drink some wine before continuing to the next song.

“Now, you start softly and let your voice grow until this place right here,” Philippe pointed to a spot in the lyrics on his handwritten music sheet. I’ll join you there for the chorus. Then I’ll do the next verse and you join me here for the final chorus.”

Lorraine sipped wine while he read through the lyrics for the entire song.  “Philippe, the words are so beautiful. Here, the song is mournful and tragic, but in the end, the song cries out in happiness and love.”

“It’s a metaphor for my life,” Philippe

“And, where do I fit in to this metaphor?” Lorraine bent down to nuzzle Philippe’s neck as he spoke.

“Do you really have to ask?” Philippe turned his head to look at Lorraine.

“Well, you are having me sing the tragic part. Is that connected to the metaphor?”

Philippe sighed, “I want you to do that part because you have such a beautiful voice for that. My voice is more raucous and better for the ending jubilant part.”

“But, look, I think we should both do the tragic part like a point-counterpoint. I do this part, you do that, then I do this part, then you come back with this part—then we both do the jubilant ending together. It is sort of like two souls with sad lives who come together in the end.”

Philippe turned and just stared at Lorraine. “I never saw that potential! Now you are going to outshine me in arrangement! Maybe I should just resign and let you take over as musician.”

“You didn’t see it because you wrote the song and are focused on how you perceived it should be. I had no idea how it was _supposed_ to be done, so I just picked up on this other possibility. You can’t resign because I can’t write a song to save my life!”

“Have you ever tried?”

“No, because it just doesn’t appeal to me. It seems like such drudgery.  I tell you what. I’ll write songs if you design high fashion clothes!”

“You win. I won’t resign. I’ll continue to be the rock star. I would have no clue where to even begin in designing clothes. I don’t even like to _wear_ high fashion clothes.”

“Yes, you do, love. When I design them for you, you like them because I know what looks good on you. You are going to look fabulous on your tour. The fans will be screaming for you and swooning over you.”

“That is a little scary. In the past, I haven’t really been the kind of rock star fans swooned over. I am not the pretty boy crooner type. I’ve always been raw and dark and, truthfully, depressing.”

“Yes, you have that tragic kind of beauty. But you can only be tragic for so long before you end up dead. There needs to be some joy—and you’ve found it in this new music. I think they will understand that. Nothing says you still can’t be raw and dark—even angry. You wrote some songs that suit that part of you perfectly. I don’t fit into those songs at all. But you can work your way up to hope and I will be glad to join you and be a part of those songs with you.”

“So, have you had any word on the schedule for your international shows yet? We really need to know so we can figure out how all of this is going to work.”

Lorraine answered quickly, “Interesting that you ask. Leo and I were discussing that this afternoon. We want to do three shows, a kick-off one here in Paris, a second in London and a third in Milan. He’s got preliminary reservations for all three places that we need to confirm in the next few days.”

“Are those days going to coincide with our tour?” Philippe asked.

“Not exactly.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Do you think you and I could be ready with our duets in three weeks? And the band ready to accompany us?”

Philippe looked shocked. “Three weeks? Are you crazy?”

“It’s not like it will be a full-fledged concert appearance. Let me explain. The kick-off will be at the Intercontinental Paris le Grande Hotel in their Opera Ballroom.”

“Opera Ballroom?”

“Yes. We will have what they call cabaret seating—round tables of 8 people—30 of them. The room is in a semi-circle configuration and it is beautiful! Gold, marble, domed ceiling—it is breathtaking. It is the perfect place to kick off my Chevalier line. There will be fifteen tables on each side with a clearing in the middle. At the top of the circle part will be a slightly raised stage for the band and a piano. You can play the piano for our duets and the band can back us up. We’ll start with our duets accompanied by the band. What will it take, thirty minutes for our three songs? For the runway show, I gave the show team the demo you gave me of the tune you created for the runway walk. They had it arranged for a small  chamber orchestra. They are working on recording that now—I think they are even adding guitars to it to bridge the classical and rock.”

“Wait a minute! You took what I wrote and did all this without asking me?”

“I thought that was the arrangement—you’d write the tune and my people would turn it into a semi-orchestral piece to pipe in for the runway. I didn’t do this, the team in charge of the show did this with complete coordination with your record company team. They created a contract and everything. I was just told about it this afternoon.”

“Oh. I guess I should have answered my phone today when my agent Lily called me. I didn’t feel like talking to her. I guess maybe that was what she was calling about.”

“Love, from what I understand, you and the band are getting a very generous payment—and you keep the copyrights for writing it. House of Lorraine just paid for the rights to use it for this Chevalier line, with an agreed upon amount for each show we use it in.”

“I guess I wasn’t sure how that was going to work.”

“Neither did I, love. But they took it and ran with it. Okay, here let me bring up some photos of the Intercontinental Le Grande on the computer so you get an idea of what I am talking about.”

Soon Lorraine had the computer up with images of the Opera Room of the Parisian hotel.

“Here’s what it looks like when you first walk in. The models will enter through these doors. Lorraine pointed to a set of wide, multi-paned glass doors flanked on either side by lush red wall panels trimmed in ornate gold molding with three-light gold sconces in the center of each and red-and-gold brocade curtains tied back on each panel. The room inside was breathtaking and done in an opulent Baroque style even more ornate than Versailles. The room exploded with marble of gold, red or black as well as crystal and blindingly brilliant light. The room was in a half-circle shape with the entrance in the middle of the flat side. The room was voluminous, probably close to sixty feet in height with a magnificent, domed roof. An ornate carpeting in gold and red, left an uncovered, four-foot-wide swath of the black marble floor along the edge. Round tables were covered in floor-length crisp white linen tablecloths. The chairs were a dark mahogany with red velvet seats. 

The “walls” of the room consisted of a series of side-by-side twenty to twenty-five-foot-tall, arched mirrors framed with golden marble and each separated by an ornate red marble column with an overall gold ivy inlay pattern. On top of the wall of mirrored arches, were almost as tall, arched windows composed of more golden marble, flanked on each side by tall Greco-Roman male and female sculptures with another column between each arch. This time the marble column was segmented with a spiraled red and gold marble inlay on the bottom and the gold ivy inlaid into red marble on top.  The many pendentives that provided the bridge from the vertical wall inward to support the dome, were in a triangular shape, inset with round windows framed by very ornately carved golden marble. The dome itself, made of golden marble, consisted of an oval with richly carved scalloped edges, inside a rectangle, with richly carved edges, joined to the pendentives with a strip of black marble. The inside of the dome’s  oval was inset with beautiful red, purple and blue stained glass.

Additionally, the arch on the wall across the room opposite the entrance, featured a huge marble fireplace (very much like that at Versailles in Philippe’s room). Over the fireplace, there was a large ornate round clock with a face in the red marble and a richly carved gold frame, flanked on either side by red marble s-shapes with two nude adolescent youths (about six to seven years old) with a strategically placed swaddling of gold “fabric.” Above that was an ornately carved oval, with red marble backing, that provided a display for a Greco-Roman bust of a female.

Lighting was provided by a very large Swarovski crystal chandelier suspended from the center of the dome, as well as clusters of eight tulip sconces over every marble column. The windows and stained glass inset in the dome let in an abundance of light which was reflected by the enormous mirrors inside the bottom arches.

Philippe let out a whistle and said, “Wow, that is very lavish! King Louis would have approved of it whole-heartedly. How much is this place going to cost you?”

“A very pretty penny, love. We’re still negotiating the price, but it is steep. However, that is the cost of launching a new line. It will be a very gala event. We’ll invite all the people in the fashion industry that we want to convince to buy the line for their stores and customers. We will also offer tickets for tables of eight to the social elite—well, anybody who can afford the very expensive price of 10,000 a table—I think that was the latest figure they gave me. I think only the so-called social elite will be able to afford that.”

“I think the band and I will feel very out of place there. Are you sure our music is going to work for this type of affair?”

“Oh yes, I think the duets will be perfect. That’s all you’ll need to play. Here is another view with a slightly different table arrangement than I will have.  You can see the semi-circular shape of the hall. In the middle, going from the entrance to the marble fireplace, there will be a cleared area of about 10-15 feet for the runway models to walk. They will go from the entrance almost to the stage, make a right for a few steps then turn back to the entrance and eventually exit . On each side of the clear area, there will be three rows of five tables going from the entrance towards the marble fireplace and stage area.”

Lorraine switched to a different photo, “Here is the detail over the fireplace that will give you an idea of the detail in the rest of the room. That is all real marble. Various shades of red from this dark red, to this pinkish solid marble along with some purplish marble with lots of gold trim. I have no idea if it is real gold or maybe just gold plating or if it is fake.”

Philippe answered, “It has to be fake because that is a lot of gold!”

“Maybe parts are real gold and other parts are just gold paint. I bet the frame of that clock and the material on those cherubs are real gold. I’ve seen antique clocks like that for auction and they cost a lot! And I wonder if that is Ioannina marble from Greece.”

“Damn! That is almost as gaudy as Versailles! It just might be worse with all that different marble. And all those mirrors! I just don’t see how the clothes are going to fit into this.”

“That’s the whole idea. The clothes will be totally modern but influenced by the 1700’s. I want that juxtaposition of the old with the new.”

“You certainly are going to get a _jux ta po si ti on_ , then,” Philippe pronounced each syllable sarcastically with a pause in between. “Do I dare ask when this extravaganza is going to take place?”

“Saturday, October 6. That’s in three weeks—the weekend after the band gets together to practice. I think you and I will have the duets down.”

“Yes, but the band and I will only have one week to practice before this show and our practice was really supposed to focus on the stage show for the tour—not on a special one-night performance.”

“The record company told my people we could practice with the band on Monday and Tuesday, Oct 1 and 2, the week leading up to the show. If you and I are strong on our part, it shouldn’t take more than a couple of days to work out the kinks with the band, should it?”

Philippe shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Well then, don’t let me say anything that would contradict the experts at the record company!” Philippe paused for effect then continued, “You do know this will be the first time you will sing in front of an audience, don’t you? What if you choke? People do that quite frequently. It’s a lot different singing in front of three hundred people than it is sitting in our home singing with me.”

“Oh. I had not thought of that.”

“We need to practice singing in front of a decent-sized audience first. Any ideas?”

“What if we performed at House of Lorraine during lunch? We have about a hundred employees. I could have a catered lunch and they will flock to something free. Will that be enough people?”

“I guess that will be a good enough test. When?” Philippe asked.

“On Friday? It could just be me and you on a keyboard. The band doesn’t have to be involved does it?”

“No. That gives us two more nights to practice. I wrote the songs, so I am good with it if you are. We could wait another week.”

“But what if I do have problems? Wouldn’t we need the extra time to work out my, uh, fears?”

Philippe answered quite unenthusiastically, “Okay.” Lorraine could feel that Philippe wasn’t that excited about having his control taken from him regarding his music.

“Love, if you would prefer to just ditch the duets, we can do that. I don’t want to interfere in your music and your tour. I didn’t think it was going to be this complicated.”

“But I like the idea of singing with you. Let’s just prepare for the House of Lorraine lunch and go from there. If you have problems, we’ll work it out. But I think you’ll do fine.”

“I’m glad you have such confidence in me.” Lorraine squeezed Philippe’s shoulders and wished he had the same confidence in himself.

Philippe continued, “You mentioned two other shows for your Chevalier line.”

“Yes, the next two weekends after Paris. October 13 at the Banqueting House at Whitehall in London and October 20 at the Hotel Principe di Savoia’s Veranda Room in Milan, Italy. They will be smaller venues. 240 people at Whitehall and 100 to 150 at Principe.”

“Let me understand this. The band starts practicing October 1. We go to Paris for your first show that weekend October 6. Next week band practices and we go to your show in London Saturday, October 13. Next week band practice and we go to your show in Milan on Saturday, October 20. Band practice another week and we do the band’s two special ‘practice’ shows Friday and Saturday October 26 and 27. We get another week of practice to correct any problems and start the tour on November 5. Wow.”

“Is there something wrong with that schedule?”

“The band is not going to like having their weekends tied up while they are practicing for the tour. It’s their last few weekends with their families before the tour starts.”

“I don’t know that we will need them except for the Paris show. Well, maybe London, too. Unless I decide to fit in more tables in the area we set aside for the band. Milan is too small for the band. Would they mind just doing the Paris show on the 6th and not the other two shows? I think there’s a big money incentive for the Paris show that will make it well worth their while.”

“I guess it will be up to them and whatever the record company decides. I don’t mind doing your shows because I’d rather be with you than here alone.”

“I’ll tell my people we won’t need the band then for London and Milan.”

“What is going to happen when our tour starts? Are you going to be able to join me?”

“No, not all the time. I can join you for Friday and Saturday shows only. Maybe Sundays if you have any.”

“Not Thursdays? Couldn’t you swing those, too?”

“Love, I do have a business to run.”

“I thought Leo was going to take over a lot of things for you.”

“Yes, operations, but I still need to work with clients and designing. A lot of clients like to come in on Fridays because they take off that day so I’m already cutting them off.”

“So, I will be alone four days in a row?”

“As will I, love.”

“When will you come on Fridays? Could you come Thursday night? If you take your corporate jet after work, you could be there probably before the show even starts. And what if you don’t leave until Monday morning? You could sleep on the jet. I don’t care about our duet so much as I don’t want to sleep without you.”

“You will be so exhausted after the show you won’t even miss me.”

“I thought I explained that to you. It doesn’t work that way! After a show I will be excited and stimulated. There are too many temptations. I need you there.”

Lorraine realized Philippe was getting very emotionally upset. He stood up and put his arms around Philippe and pulled him in close. “Love let me get the itinerary for the tour. I will look at it and see what I can do.”

“You could keep in touch with Leo by phone or even Skype. You could Skype clients, too, and do your design work with me. There is a lot of boring time when there is nothing to do.”

“Yes, and what do you think you will want to do when there is so much down time? Will you let me work or will you tempt me?”

“If you stay with me and you need to work, I will let you. Promise.”

Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Love, I don’t want to be without you either. I hate coming home to an empty house. And sleeping in our bed, without you in it, will be pure torture for me, too.” Lorraine, kissed Philippe’s cheek and then his lips moved to Philippe’s lips and kissed them softly. “I think we’ve practiced enough tonight.”

The next kiss was not soft at all but meant to start a fire in Philippe.

“Let’s take this wine to the bedroom, love,” Lorraine suggested, but Philippe was already picking up the glasses and the bottle with the same idea. “Let, me have my wine glass so you won’t spill it juggling them like that.” Lorraine took the glass from Philippe’s hand and finished off the wine that was in the glass. He put his arm around Philippe’s waist, and they walked to their bedroom.

Lorraine sat on the edge of the bed and Philippe held out the bottle indicating he wanted to fill Lorraine’s glass. Lorraine held his glass out and took a big swallow of the wine as Philippe filled his own glass and sat down next to Lorraine. He kissed Lorraine then sucked on his bottom lip then his top lip.

“Your lips taste like wine, love,” he whispered in Lorraine’s ear. He then took a long drink of his own wine.

Lorraine sucked Philippe’s lips, kissed him and slipped his tongue between Philippe’s lips. Philippe responded in kind. When they broke apart, they both grabbed their wine glasses and gulped their glasses dry. Philippe took both glasses and set them and the wine bottle on the nightstand.

His next move was to try and push Lorraine onto the bed, but Lorraine pushed back. “No love, it’s your turn.” Philippe resisted at first, but Lorraine was insistent and kept pushing as he kissed and sucked on Philippe’s neck and ears. Philippe finally let Lorraine push him backwards on to the bed. Lorraine pulled Philippe’s tee shirt over his head and threw it on the floor. He next pulled down Philippe’s sweat pants and smiled when he saw that he was having the desired effect on Philippe’s cock. Lorraine made a move to slide off the bed, but Philippe drew him back in with another tongue-twisting kiss while he began unbuttoning Lorraine’s shirt. The shirt wound up on the floor with the other removed clothes.

Again, Lorraine tried to slip off the bed between Philippe’s legs, but Philippe was grasping Lorraine’s shoulders and pulled him back in for another fire-provoking kiss. Lorraine tried another tactic, and slid his own hands over Philippe’s bare skin, caressing and massaging, tweaking Philippe’s nipples, as he pushed his body against Philippe’s. Philippe’s hands found their way to the button and zipper of Lorraine’s jeans and made quick work of undoing both and sliding the jeans down. It was Philippe’s turn to smile at the effect he was having on his Chevalier. Lorraine used a hand to push his pants down further then kicked them off. Now he was free to grind his body against Philippe’s as they locked each other into a deep and passionate kiss, inflaming both their desires.

Lorraine’s hands were now on Philippe’s hips using them for leverage as he continued grinding his body against Philippe’s. His hands then moved on to Philippe’s belly. He began twirling his fingertips in the dark curly hair and followed the line of hair downwards. Philippe groaned as Lorraine’s fingertips found Philippe’s cock and ran slowly up the shaft sending shivers through Philippe. Lorraine’s lips and mouth were now kissing and sucking their way ever so slowly down Philippe’s body as his fingertips continued their slow teasing.

Philippe was now Lorraine’s to do with as he pleased. Lorraine’s fingertips gave way to a firmer grip as his hand worked to further arouse Philippe’s desire. Philippe was making small grunting noises that gave way to a loud moan as Lorraine’s lips joined in the arousal.

Philippe was now moaning and writhing frantically as Lorraine played him with hand and mouth. With a couple of swift moves, Lorraine removed hands and mouth from Philippe, used his hands to scoot himself forward, and rose to his knees. With careful deliberation, Lorraine lowered himself onto Philippe’s rigid and wet cock, moaning as he felt it penetrating him. Philippe also let out a loud moan. Philippe resisted the urge to thrust and let Lorraine settle himself down until he was fully penetrated. Philippe moaned as he started slowly moving in and out of Lorraine.

The control moved to Philippe who now began increasing the speed and intensity of his movements, grabbing Lorraine by the waist to hold him firmly as he made the effort to flip himself and Lorraine first to their side, then continuing to roll on top of Lorraine. Now Philippe was on top of Lorraine, between his legs. With a couple of swift moves, Philippe pulled Lorraine’s buttocks up with him as Philippe moved into a kneeling position. Philippe now pushed Lorraine’s legs towards Lorraine’s chest, so he had better access and held on to the legs for leverage.

In this new position, Philippe now gave in to the urge for hard and deep thrusts causing Lorraine to grunt and groan loudly with the force of each one. Philippe himself was grunting and panting as he got lost in the intensity of the moment. Lorraine could now stroke himself in time with Philippe’s movements.

Lorraine cried out, “Oh, god! Philippe! Oh god! I can’t… I can’t…. Ohhh….” Lorraine’s words became loud and unintelligible intermingled with loud moans.

Philippe never heard him because he was too caught up in his own unintelligible cries and moaned loudly. Finally, he slowed his thrusts, making several deep and long ones as he squeezed his seed into Lorraine, groaning loudly. He sat on his knees, his head resting on one of Lorraine’s legs, as he tried to catch his breath. Still breathing heavily, he kissed the skin of Lorraine’s leg where his head had rested. He finally lowered Lorraine’s legs to the bed, caressing them tenderly as he did. He moved forward to collapse gently on top of Lorraine, kissing Lorraine’s chest tenderly before he laid his head on it.

All Lorraine had the strength to do in response was rake his fingertips firmly across Philippe’s back and kiss the dark curls on the top of Philippe’s head.

“Damn!” was all Lorraine could say as he wrapped his arms around Philippe tightly.

After what Lorraine thought was about ten minutes but couldn’t be sure because he had almost drifted off to sleep, Lorraine raised his hands to stroke Philippe’s hair, saying, “Good night, my love.”

At that Philippe raised his head a little and said, “I need more wine before I sleep.” He slowly raised up and rolled off Lorraine. He sat up and reached for the wine and glasses and asked, “Wine?”

Lorraine grunted a “yes.” He winced as the tingling pain signaled the blood flowing through his legs again where Philippe had lain on him. He sat up to take the full wine glass from Philippe.

Lorraine huskily said, “Love, there is no way I am going to go four days without you in my bed when you are on tour. Hell, we make love at least once a day, most times more. And, I swear, one of these days you are going to kill me. I am just going to have one long orgasm and my heart will stop because it can’t take it. But, damn, I’m going to enjoy it while I can. What a way to go!”

“Stop this talk about dying,” Philippe demanded.

“Sorry, love. I know you take things too seriously. I won’t die, I’ll just fade off into eternal bliss. A permanent stupid grin on my face.”

“That’s almost as bad! Seriously, though, I would go crazy if I didn’t have you to fuck. You are the most amazing fuck I’ve ever had.”

“How vulgarly sweet of you to tell me,” Lorraine purred sarcastically.

“Sorry,  I guess I should say you are the most amazing…. I guess ‘lover’ is the word I should use. But the word ‘lover’ is too, is too, uh, tame. It doesn’t capture the raw and base emotions you cause in me as well as the ecstatic feelings.”

“Philippe, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, because I mean this in the most enjoyable and amazing way, but lately, in the last few days, there has been a new. . . I guess passion is the best word I can think of. . . in your love making. You have always been great, but it’s like you turned it up to another level. I love it, but just wonder if there is any reason why.”

“You always have to pick everything apart, don’t you? You can’t be satisfied with something just because it is. You need to know _why_ it is the way it is. It is damned irritating at times.”

“Don’t be annoyed with me, love. I just wonder why there’s a different intensity in you lately. I love it, of course.”

“Because I am a moody person. Sometimes I am intense. Sometimes not so much. It is just the way I am.”

“Okay, love. I understand. I love you intense and not so intense. I’ll take you however you are and be happy.”

“And you will do your best to be with me on tour? If you can’t then I am not going to be a very happy person. I may even decide to quit the tour.”

“You are under contract, aren’t you? You can’t quit.”

“Oh, I could quit, but there would be a heavy price. But still, to be without you is going to be more than I can stand.”

“Okay, love, I will see what I can do. I will need that itinerary as soon as possible though.”

“I’ll have Lily fax you a copy of it tomorrow. I don’t think she’d appreciate me waking her up tonight to do it.”

“And we need to get some sleep if I’m going to be any good at work tomorrow.” Lorraine finished off his wine and put the glass on the nightstand. He snuggled in close to Philippe as he finished the last of his wine, also.

Philippe settled in next to Lorraine and they kissed. A soft, lingering kiss—one that was the perfect ending to their love making and that said “I love you” in the sweetest, most unvulgar way possible.

 


	65. The Perils of a Noon Quickie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine works on his Paris debut of the Versailles clothing line. A surprise doesn't work out quite the way Philippe planned. The chamber music version of Philippe's tune brings up unwanted memories of the Baroque court composer, Lully, for Lorraine.

The next morning, Lorraine got up an hour and a half before the alarm went off because he needed to get the sketches for Philippe’s tour clothing finished so he could get the approvals for them—first from Philippe, then from the record company. He knew he was cutting it close and that they’d probably have to do overtime to get the clothes made in time. He now had added incentive because he wanted something very special for him and Philippe for the Paris show. There was so much work and so very little time! Somehow, he had managed to slip out of bed without waking Philippe. Philippe only woke up when he was giving him a goodbye kiss. A groggy and sleepy Philippe voiced his disappointment that there was no time for a little early morning love making, but Lorraine bet to himself that Philippe was back asleep before the front door had slammed behind him. Lorraine knew he would have to make it up to him tonight.

When he got to the office, everything was closed up tight and he had to use his key to the side entrance to get in. Then he realized that he really needed some coffee and went out of his office to make some. When he got to the machine his assistant used, he realized he had no idea how to operate it. It wasn’t a simple put the ground coffee in here, pour the water in there and turn it on. There were timers and strength settings, and brew time settings, and dozens of knobs and buttons. Lorraine decided to go down the block to the coffee shop on the corner. He might as well get something to eat while he was there. So much for going in early to get work done!

Fifteen minutes later, he returned with a large black coffee with four sugars—it looked about twice the size of what his assistant made for him, so he used twice the sugar—and a breakfast sandwich with Canadian bacon, an egg, and cheese on a croissant. He had also gotten a small container with fresh fruit—melon, blueberries and strawberries. He needed something a little healthy to offset the rest of his not so healthy meal. He really did need to start watching what he ate—and drank—he and Philippe did drink a lot of wine! Maybe he should skip lunch today.

He finally was able to sit at his desk and stare at his sketchpad. He was thinking about the Paris show. He realized that the ballroom was really going to dwarf his models with its grandiose décor and the high, soaring domed roof. How was he going to get around that? Then it hit him, don’t fight the glamour—go with it. It was a ballroom, right? Why not have his models waltz their way up and down the runway? Of course, there would be no women in his show—he would use all male couples. But the music was not going to be a waltz. He didn’t think he had time to get the musician composer to try and convert Philippe’s tune into the meter of a waltz—if that could even be done. No, the music was already converted and being recorded by a chamber orchestra. He did remember the composer had said he was going to try and keep it in the French Baroque style—and Lorraine knew how to dance to that. He and Philippe had both been very good dancers even if they had not been able to dance together that often at court. And models dancing the dances from the Sun King’s Court to French Baroque music would further enhance the theme of his Chevalier line.

He decided to call the composer and see if there was any way he could send him a draft recording of what he was doing, just so Lorraine could get an idea of the feeling of the music. He knew it was too early in the morning but decided to call anyway. He’d give Henri a bonus for his trouble. He was surprised there was a quick answer.

“Henri, Lorraine, here. Oh, I hear music in the background! Is that my music?”

“Yes, it is coming along very well.”

“I am surprised that you are up so early, but glad that work is going well. I have a favor to ask of you. I am trying to plan the runway show and I need to get a good feel for what the chamber orchestra version of Philippe’s tune is going to sound like. Is there any way you can tape a preliminary version, so I can get a feel for it? It doesn’t have to be perfect—I’ll accept flaws. I just need a gut feeling to work from.”

“Yes, I can get you one and send it over this afternoon. It will just be a rehearsal tape and we haven’t been rehearsing that long, so it will be rough.”

“Thank you, so much! I’ll take it in any form you have! You’re a lifesaver, Henri.”

When he hung up Lorraine congratulated himself on thinking to get that. Then it dawned on him. If his models were going to have to dance, he needed models who preferably had dance experience, and he needed a choreographer. Not just any choreographer, but someone with knowledge and experience in French Baroque dancing in the era of Louis XIV but who also knew modern dance. Damn, this was getting complicated. He made a note to put his assistant on the task of finding a choreographer and to ensure the models had dance experience as soon as he came in. Next, there was the matter of caterer. He wanted to serve the food he had eaten at Versailles to his guests and that would take a chef with that knowledge. He added that to his assistant’s list. There was the matter of color scheme—but that would depend on the clothing he made and that was not done yet. He thought he would prefer colorful linens for the table setups and not the standard white linen.

He closed his eyes and tried to visualize the ballroom and the setting. If he was smart, he would keep things simple, but he wasn’t smart—he was always over-the-top—and for this, he was not going to change. He remembered a time at Versailles when one of the event organizers had thought releasing one hundred white doves would be a beautiful spectacle. The release of the doves was spectacular, but instead of flying off to return to their rook, the birds started circling in confusion. The little presents they dropped onto the spectators fine clothing had been much less than spectacular. Lorraine remembered it had been all he could do to keep from laughing as the doves seemed to be aiming for the King. The fact was that the King happened to be standing at the center of the circling doves and standing at what could be called “ground zero.” Lorraine chuckled to himself at the memory of it, although he did remember how hard it was to get the bird poop out of his own jacket.

It had been all Philippe could do to keep Louis from ordering that organizer to be jailed then hung. Philippe had managed to talk Louis into exiling him instead. Lorraine frowned, yes, he always suspected Philippe and that organizer of fooling around. He had seen the hug Philippe and that man had exchanged as the man prepared to enter the coach that would take him away from Versailles and out of France. The placement of the hands was too familiar; the hug held too long. Lorraine also remembered that Philippe made a move towards the man’s face and just happened to lock eyes with Lorraine standing opposite them. Lorraine was sure Philippe was going for a kiss but stopped when he saw Lorraine watching. Even now, he could feel the jealousy he had. Then Lorraine sighed. Of course, he was dallying with that lute player at the time. What a pretty young man he had been. Just the perfect one to use to make Philippe jealous. He had to work so hard in those days to keep Philippe focused only on him. At least that is nothing he had to worry about now. If anything, Philippe was sometimes _too_ focused on him.

He brought himself back to the problem at hand. No doves for his Opera Ballroom. What about butterflies?  No, people would be eating and as beautiful as they were, butterflies were still insects. But what about video or lasers? With all those mirrors, a well-aimed couple of lasers could make a spectacular display! He didn’t want it to be rave-like but more controlled, more elegant. Another item to add to his assistant’s list: contact the person in charge of Philippe’s stage lighting and set up to come meet with him and talk to him about the possibilities. Maybe he should have Tom research the use of lasers in recent years—compile him a set of videos he could look at and get inspiration from. His goal would be to use modern technology to evoke the sensibilities of the Sun King’s Versailles. If Louis were alive—oh, wait, Lorraine remembered, Louis was alive! But this Louis had not experienced the life-style of a king, had not been told from the moment he was born that he was chosen by God. This Louis was still a normal man with the doubts of a normal man and a mind that was still limited in its imagination. Even if Lorraine was willing to go to him and ask this favor of him, this Louis could not help him with.

Lorraine looked down at his notes and laughed. Yes, he had gotten a lot of work done! He had made a list of things for others to do for him. But wasn’t that what a boss was supposed to do—delegate? He called Tom’s office number and left a message for Tom to call him first thing when he came in. He also tore off the page with the list of things for his assistant to do and paper-clipped a note to that: “Please come in and talk to me about the items on this list.” He took that out and put it on his assistant’s desk.

Then he was back staring at the empty sketch pad. Start with something simple—a shirt. What kind of collar—or no collar? How should he and Philippe match? And how should they contrast? Pants—skinny leg? Bell-bottom? Versailles style knickers? Then he had an idea for the knee length, knicker-style pants coming to just below the knee, then a pleated bell shape sewn to the cuff of the ‘knickers.’ Would that work? Or maybe a straight leg pant attached at the cuff. What if the ‘knickers’ were not as full as the Versailles ones? Maybe he was on to something here. He just had to get the proportions right. He was busy sketching his idea over and over changing the proportions, the cut, the pleating, trying to get his idea right. Lorraine didn’t hear his assistant arrive and bustle around getting equipment turned on, making coffee, doing his morning routine. Therefore, when the assistant came to his door and spoke to him, Lorraine jumped.

“Sorry, sir. Didn’t mean to startle you. Just wanted to let you know Tom is on his way to talk to you. Did you want some coffee? It should be ready in a few minutes.”

Lorraine had finished his coffee, but he decided another cup wouldn’t hurt. The coffee shop coffee had been adequate, but he was really craving the coffee his assistant made. That machine did seem to do a good job. Maybe all those special settings made a difference after all. Or maybe it was just the expensive beans he insisted upon.

When his assistant brought the coffee, Lorraine handed him the bag and wrapping from the sandwich to throw in a trash can somewhere other than his office. If the stuff was thrown into his trash, he would start smelling the grease after a while and the smell would drive him crazy and he wouldn’t be able to get it out of his nose. It was ironic that the food didn’t smell like the grease when he was eating it, although he knew the food was thick with it. Hot grease tasted good. Cold grease didn’t.

Tom came in and he went over the things he wanted researched for the Paris show. After Tom left, he knew he had some decent ideas and he developed the most promising ones. Now he wanted to do the sketches and colorize them with markers, but he didn’t like doing this at his desk. He had a drawing table in the corner that he could slant at just the right angle for him to work the most comfortably. He moved to  the table and work  was progressing rapidly as he completed one colorized sketch after another. The idea was to do as many as he could and not take the time to fuss with them. Just get the ideas out. Then he’d leave them overnight and tomorrow he would have a fresh eye and be able to be more critical of them. He was lost in his own little world, sketching quickly with his pencil, then coloring in with marker and finally adding the bold black outlines last. He ignored the rumbling in his stomach that was trying to tell him it was lunch and continued working. Suddenly he was torn out of his concentration by someone grabbing him from behind. His instant reflex was to swing at the assailant with his elbow as he turned to break away. He felt the satisfying feeling of his elbow plowing into the soft stomach of his attacker and heard the resulting cry of pain. As he turned, though, satisfaction turned to alarm as he realized his “assailant” was Philippe, and Philippe was doubled over in pain.

Lorraine cried out, “Philippe! It’s you! I am so sorry! Are you okay?”

Philippe grunted out, “Who the hell, did you think it was? And no, I am _not_ okay!”

“Here sit in my chair—or go lie down on my couch.”

Still doubled over, Philippe said, “I don’t think I could lie down if I tried. I think you ruptured my spleen or something.” Philippe plopped down in Lorraine’s office chair still doubled over.

“I think your spleen is in the back. I could have ruptured your stomach or intestines, though. Are you sure you can’t straighten up?”

“I don’t want to because it hurts when I try. Why the hell did you hit me?”

“You startled me. Remember that self-defense class you insisted I take? Well, the instructor told us the number one important thing is to not let them grab you and get control of you. We practiced the elbow jab over and over until it became second-nature to us. It was just a reflex I built up in that class. What are you doing here? How did you get past my assistant?”

“It’s lunchtime. I thought I’d drop by and get a little romantic with you. There was no one out there, so I let myself in. But you ruined _that_ mood!”

Lorraine dropped to his knees, so he could hug Philippe and maybe check out his belly to see if he could feel if anything serious was hurt.

“I said the mood is ruined for me, why are you on your knees? I’m in too much pain—get your hands off me.”

“Philippe, I was just going to feel your stomach to see if anything is broken.”

“There’s no bones in there to break. Just organs to rupture.”

Lorraine was trying to cradle Philippe’s head, but he wasn’t cooperating. “Please, love. Let me check you out. We need to figure out if you need an ambulance.”

“No, I don’t need an ambulance. The pain is starting to subside a little.”

“Can you straighten up at all?” Lorraine pulled the hair back from Philippe’s face and kissed his cheek. “I am so sorry, love. You should have said something at the door to let me know you were here.”

“Like I said, I wanted to surprise you when I saw your back was turned. I thought it was the perfect opportunity for a hug and a neck kiss. Boy was I wrong. And kissing my cheek isn’t going to make my stomach feel any better.”

“Not even a little?”

“Well, maybe a little.”

Lorraine kissed him again, this time on his forehead. “And did that help?”

“Well, it didn’t hurt.”

Lorraine gently pulled Philippe towards him and kissed him on the lips gently. “And now?”

“That was too soft. I didn’t feel anything.”

Lorraine pulled Philippe to him and kissed him again. This time he slipped his tongue into Philippe’s mouth and was met by Philippe’s tongue. Philippe seemed to quickly be forgetting about the elbow to the stomach. He straightened up a little and Lorraine pulled his tee shirt up to gently feel his stomach for any injuries.

“Good, there aren’t any hard lumps or swellings. I don’t think I did any permanent damage,” Lorraine commented.

Philippe answered, “You need to go down further, I think there is something swelling down there and getting hard.” Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s shoulders and pulled him up for another kiss. Philippe sat up then leaned back into Lorraine’s large, comfortable, padded office chair with Lorraine on top of him. Lorraine’s feet were on the floor supporting him with his legs between Philippe’s legs and the rest of his body resting against Philippe’s body.

After a lengthy kiss, Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I missed you when I woke up—had an erection and you weren’t there.”

Lorraine answered, “So you came to my office to surprise me?”

“No, actually I came to talk to you about our get-away this weekend, but then your back was turned, and I got that stupid idea to surprise you.”

Lorraine was sucking and kissing on Philippe’s neck. His hands had pushed Philippe’s tee shirt up and were massaging Philippe’s chest. Philippe’s hands were under Lorraine’s shirt, running over the muscles in Lorraine’s back. Both men were pushing against each other eagerly. Lorraine moved downward so his mouth and lips could kiss and suck on Philippe’s chest. His hands also moved down to Philippe’s belly, moving outward to embrace his sides and upper hips then sliding back to the belly. Lorraine slid his fingers under the waist of Philippe’s jeans. Philippe responded with a moan. Lorraine unbuttoned and unzipped Philippe’s jeans pushing his hands further under the pants to curl his fingertips in the hair below Philippe’s belly. His next move was to pull Philippe’s pants down with Philippe raising his hips to help.

Lorraine said gruffly, “Oh, here, I have found it. The sadly swollen organ.” Philippe moaned in response as Lorraine used his hands and mouth. “Oh dear, I think I have only made matters worse!”

Philippe leaned down and whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Enough. I need to fuck you. Now.” Philippe pulled Lorraine up and kissed him deeply while his hands worked to undo Lorraine’s pants.

Lorraine’s response was, “Love, not in my chair, please. It is made of the finest of Italian leather. Let’s go to the couch.”

Lorraine stood up and stepped out of his pants. He took Philippe’s hands and pulled him up. He helped Philippe out of his pants and led him to the couch.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “How many models have you fucked on this couch?”

Lorraine kissed Philippe’s cheek and ran his hand down his face, “None since I met you, love, now sit.” Lorraine pushed Philippe into a seated position on the couch, then bent to kiss him while pushing his legs gently apart. After the kiss, Lorraine turned around and slowly lowered himself onto Philippe’s cock. Philippe wrapped his arms around Lorraine and kissed his neck and back. Lorraine put his hands onto Philippe’s thighs and slowly started raising himself up, then down. Both men moaned as their passion took hold of them.  At first, Lorraine was raising and lowering himself onto Philippe’s cock, but Philippe took control and held Lorraine’s hips up, so he could thrust into him. Both were grunting and moaning loudly as their needs became more urgent. Their rigorous movement was banging the couch against the wall. Lorraine was first to cry out as his orgasm swept over him, “Oh god, Philippe! Oh god!”

Then just as Philippe began crying out, the office door flew open and the assistant came running in only to stop dead in his tracks. His mouth opened in surprise at the sight before him. He was met with Philippe’s cry of “Oh goddddd!” The assistant turned and ran out of the room slamming the door behind him. As Philippe made his last thrusts into Lorraine, Lorraine managed to say, “Oh, damn. Looks like I might need a new assistant.”

Philippe collapsed against the couch, pulling Lorraine back with him. Philippe pushed the hair from Lorraine’s neck and kissed his neck while he wrapped his arms around Lorraine holding him tight. “He’ll get over it, love. Give him a bonus or a raise or something. If he can’t get over his boss giving his husband a little noon quickie, he’s not worth keeping anyway.”

Lorraine leaned back into Philippe and sighed, “Hopefully a bonus or raise will do. There’s no time to train a new assistant. I just barely got that one trained after Leo became junior partner. Now, what was this about our weekend trip?”

“Oh, we need to make a decision today. I brought two brochures to show you. They were in my back pants pocket. They’re probably wrinkled now.”

“We can look at them in a minute. Let’s just relax like this for a bit. I don’t think anyone else will be coming in to disturb us.”

 “Okay, love. Let me tell you what I think would be good. We can go to Nice. There are a lot of art museums and shopping there. The Musee Matisse has an exhibit of Picasso and Matisse that is supposed to be great. I’d like to book us a room in the five-star Hotel Negresco—the owner collects art and has used it extensively throughout the hotel. All the rooms are individually decorated and lovely. It also has two very good restaurants. The National Musee Chagall is also there. There are three wineries that produce AoP wines with the designation of Bellet. I could go on and on.”

“That’s okay, Philippe, if that is where you want to go, then it is great to me. I’m up for a trip to the French Riviera any day. You make the plans and surprise me. I’m already intrigued. How are we going to get there?”

“We could drive, but I’d rather fly. Can you get the company jet, or will we have to book a flight?”

“I can’t think of anything going on that would require the jet, but I’ll have to check to be sure. When exactly are we going on this thing?”

“We could leave Wednesday night and return Sunday night.”

“I’ve got so much to do for the Paris show, but we promised ourselves this trip. It will be our last chance to have a little alone time together before my shows and your tour. I have just delegated a bunch of things to others, so I think it will be okay to leave for a few days. On the flight there, maybe you and I can go over the designs for your tour clothes.”

Philippe hugged Lorraine and kissed the back of his neck again. “I guess I need to go talk to our travel agent and get things arranged.” He didn’t make any effort to get up, though.

“And I have a lot to do also,” Lorraine mused, but leaned back more into Philippe’s arms.

Philippe snuggled his face into Lorraine’s neck. “Maybe we can take a few minutes more to just sit here.”

“I’ve got a bit of a mess to clean up here. Just look at what you made me do, love.”

“Guess it is a good thing we didn’t stay in your chair. Your poor assistant. Bet he thought someone was attacking you or something. Imagine coming back from lunch and hearing this couch banging against the wall and hearing your boss yelling only to come running in to find him being fucked.” Philippe chuckled a little. Lorraine joined him. Then they both were laughing.

“Philippe, you are such a trouble-maker!”

“I can’t help it if I woke up horny.”

“You always wake up horny.”

“Yes, and you know that, yet still chose to leave this morning without making sure I was satisfied.”

“Well, are you satisfied now?”

“For the moment. Guess I can hold out until tonight, now.”

“Well, love, I hope you can because I have to get back to work now.” Lorraine slowly stood up. “I am glad I keep a change of clothes here and that I have my own bathroom.” Lorraine walked over, picked up Philippe’s pants and tossed them to him. “Do you want to clean up in my bathroom?”

“Is there a shower in there? We could take one together.”

“Yes, there is a shower in there, but no, I am not going to take one with you. I need to get some work done or there won’t be a trip to Nice.”

“You are no fun.”

Lorraine shook his head. “Philippe, you are hopeless, love.” He picked up his pants, then walked over to Philippe and kissed him. “Leave those pamphlets and I will try and find time to take a look at them this afternoon.”

“No, you can look at them tonight. Get your work done.” Philippe leaned in to kiss Lorraine, then put his arm around his waist and pulled him in close for a passionate kiss. Lorraine gave in for a bit but then gently broke away.

“Philippe, really, I would love nothing better than to spend the afternoon with you, but I have to get some work done.”

Philippe shrugged. “It was worth a try.” He began putting his pants on. “I think I am going to have a hard time passing by your assistant without laughing.”

“Philippe don’t make it already any worse than it is. Control yourself, please.”

Philippe gave Lorraine that little half smile of his, “I’ll do my best.” Then he turned to leave. Lorraine grabbed his change of clothes out of the closet and went into the bathroom to wipe himself down and change into his fresh clothes.

When he came back out he looked at the stain on the floor by the couch and sighed. He went out to talk to his assistant. “William, will you call housekeeping down here. There is a stain on the carpet that needs attending to.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Lorraine.”

“And William, just so you know, that was my husband, Philippe Orleans. Remember him.  When he comes in, please call me right away to let me know he is here. And I am sorry for what you saw. We should have locked the door or something. Also, I’d like to remind you of the nondisclosure agreement you signed.”

“Sir, I would never sell anything to the media. I respect you too much to do that even if I had not signed the NDA. And I am sorry I barged in on you. I had just come back from lunch and heard the banging then heard you yell. I feared something bad was happening—I had no idea what. I am so sorry. And well, I am a big fan of Mr. Orleans. Have all his music. It all was such a shock and I didn’t know what to do. From now on, I will knock before I come in.”

“I don’t think we would have heard that. Philippe doesn’t come in to the office very often, so things like this shouldn’t happen very often. I am sorry you had to see that.”

Something about the look William gave him caught Lorraine’s attention. He studied William a little closer, then thought to himself, “Oh, damn. I didn’t realize William was gay. I am really slipping not to notice something like that.”

Lorraine said out loud, “Oh, and William, thank you for rushing in like that with no thought for your own safety. That took a lot of courage.”

“Thank you, sir. I didn’t really think it through. That wasn’t very smart of me. I should’ve grabbed something as a weapon. I’m not that much of a fighter.”

“It was still brave of you. A musician named Henri is supposed to send me a recording sometime this afternoon. Let me know as soon as it comes. I hope it comes soon.”

“Yes, sir, I will let you know as soon as it comes. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Yes, can you have the runner go to the coffee shop on the corner and get me a Chef’s salad with their Green Goddess dressing on the side. Ask them to substitute turkey for the ham.”

“Yes, sir, Chef’s salad, turkey instead of ham and Green Goddess on the side. Anything to drink?”

“Have him get me a couple of bottles of plain water. Thank you.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll do that right away.”

Lorraine went back in his office. He had been making such great progress on his designs until Philippe interrupted him. Not that he minded, but now he had to get himself back into design mode and push aside what had just happened with him and Philippe.

A little later, he was back at his drawing table, sketching out more designs quickly, back comfortably in his design mode when he heard William knock on the door. He yelled for him to come in and turned to see that William had a small package which he assumed to be from Henri. When William handed it to him, he saw it was indeed from Henri. “Thank you, William.”

Lorraine put down his pencil and markers and went to his desk. He opened the package and put the disk in his computer. And there it was. Philippe’s tune turned into a beautiful 1700’s French Baroque chamber music piece. He read the note that Henri had included.

_Lorraine, I have completed this recording and I have to say, Philippe’s tune translated easily into the chamber music piece. In fact, it made me wonder if Philippe had studied music from this period, specifically, Monsieur Lully, who was the court musician for Louis XIV. Do you know if he has? He certainly writes like someone who was very familiar with Lully’s music. But it is more than a familiarity—Philippe could have been a student of Lully’s the way he has written it. The influence in it is very strong. Anyway, it is a beautiful piece and I think you will be happy with it. Again, this is just an early rehearsal piece. There are still things to be worked on.  Sincerely, Henri_

Lorraine thought to himself, if only Henri really knew just how close Philippe had been to Monsieur Lully!

The topic of Philippe and Lully made Lorraine very uneasy. It brought back memories and jealousies he would just as soon forget. Lully had not been his favorite person. Lully had been eleven years older than 19-year-old Lorraine and eight years older than 22-year-old Philippe when Lully became music master of the royal family. Philippe had followed him around like a puppy. Both Philippe and his brother were enamored with Lully’s gift for music and both showered him with praise. The King gave him appointments that eventually, through Lully’s manipulations, allowed Lully to gain control over all operas performed in France. Philippe “was so very fond of Lully and showered him with benefits in a most gracious way.” _(*statement by Titon du Tillet, author and historian.)_

**_(Note: I am taking a little literary license here, putting together the fact that Lully was made music master of the royal family and that eventually Louis, after marrying Maintenon, became revolted by Lully’s debauched “behavior and homosexual encounters.” To check out Lully's music go to:_ _<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mVa1MB0nc4> _ _There is also a photo of the composer at that link.)_ **

Lully’s affection for younger men was also well-known at court and his open flirtations had irritated Louis to no end. When Lully had first come to court, he had tried to seduce Lorraine—probably, Lorraine suspected, because there was general agreement that Lorraine was the most handsome of the young men at court. But there was just something about the man Lorraine didn’t like, and he resisted his attempts. Lully had then turned his attentions on Philippe. Lorraine suspected it was out of spite since it was well-known that Lorraine was one of Philippe’s favorites. What better way to get revenge for being spurned than to steal away that person’s lover! When Philippe started spending long periods of time with Lully in Lully’s rooms—ostensibly for Lully to teach Philippe to play the lute—Lorraine’s dislike grew into hatred. He saw how, when Philippe left the room, Philippe was flushed, his lips swollen and red, his court wig in disarray, and quite often there were bruises on his white neck. Lully and Philippe kept the dalliance secret for fear of Louis’s reaction.

Lorraine never saw concrete proof that the dalliance had resulted in actual sex, but Lully’s reputation made him believe it had. Once he had tried to broach the subject with Philippe as they lay in bed after their own sexual encounter, but Philippe had refused to talk about Lully. Fearing Philippe would make him leave the room, Lorraine stopped talking about it and never brought it up again to Philippe.

The truth was that, for all the time Philippe spent in Lully’s rooms, his mastery of the lute was poor at best. There rarely were any lute sounds—good or bad—coming from the rooms when Philippe was in there.

Now, as Lorraine listened to the piece written by Philippe that was so reminiscent of Lully’s pieces, Lorraine became depressed. He told himself to snap out of it. Lully wasn’t here, he was, and Philippe was all his! So what if Philippe had a sexual affair with Lully some three hundred plus years ago, that was the very distant past. Yet, Lorraine wondered, when Philippe was writing this tune, if he had thought about his long dead tutor and lover, Lully? Lorraine told himself he was being ridiculously jealous over nothing. Then Lorraine wondered if any of the other songs Philippe had written for this new album had been influenced by Lully. Would they lend themselves to being easily turned into French Baroque chamber music, too?

Lorraine had wanted to be inspired by this piece and, instead, it was depressing him. He needed to be thinking of the dances his models could do to this piece—how the dancing models could bring the Opera Ballroom to life and showcase his clothes in a spectacular fashion. But all he could envision was Philippe’s young face leaving Lully’s rooms. Lorraine had suspected from the look on Philippe’s face as he left the rooms that he wasn’t totally comfortable with the affair. Although eight years was not that much of a difference, Lully’s lecherous nature was well-known. Philippe’s lovers were usually younger, much better looking, and merrier. After all, the brother of the King was someone everyone wanted to be close to, so Philippe could usually pick and choose his lovers. Lorraine suspected (or hoped) that Philippe had just agreed to the affair because he didn’t want to offend the great composer. Certainly, Philippe could not have found real pleasure with that lascivious man!

Lully may have been a great composer responsible for a whole new French sound that became the French Baroque movement, but as a man he was despicable. As far as Lorraine knew, he had never developed any lasting relationships. He died of gangrene after he had dropped his long, heavy conducting baton on his foot and it had become infected. He had refused to have the leg amputated despite the doctor’s warning and the infection had spread. He had died alone—no lovers, no heirs, no friends to mourn him. In reality, the mourning that had happened had been for the music that could never be written, not for the man himself. Even Louis had tired of his disgusting ways and had ceased to invite him to court. Lorraine shook his head. Sometimes fate was just too strange and too just. A composer to die because of a cut from a conducting baton—how damned ironic. But now his music was back to haunt Lorraine—and through the most unlikely of “vessels”—Philippe!

 


	66. Orange Blossoms and Satisfaction In Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembering Philippe's tutelage by the famous 17th C Baroque composer Jean Baptiste Lully (and possible other activities) brings back memories of Versailles that Lorraine would just as soon forget. He feels the need to ask Philippe questions about his relationship with Lully. Philippe is reluctant to talk about it, but finally does. With that settled, they pack and the next night they take the jet to Nice for some much needed relaxation and sexual satisfaction.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lorraine decided to bring the recording of Philippe’s tune-turned-into-chamber-music home to play for Philippe along with the note Henri had written him. Maybe if he nonchalantly presented it to Philippe, he might get some insight into Philippe’s relationship with Lully. Some insight that would allow Lorraine to embrace and enjoy the music instead of equating it with his own personal bad memories.  He needed to love this music if he was going to be able to incorporate it into his fashion shows.

Lorraine was tempted to bring his large stack of sketches home to show Philippe to see which ones he liked but knew he really needed to go through them first. If he presented so many options to Philippe, it would probably overwhelm him and make it harder for him to decide. Lorraine would let the sketches sit overnight, sight unseen, then look at them with fresh eyes tomorrow. He could then show Philippe a smaller group of the best ideas and guarantee that Philippe’s choices would be the best they could be.

In the car, on the way home, Lorraine realized that he was emotionally drained. Of course, he had had an early start to the day that would account for any physical exhaustion. But he couldn’t understand what had happened that had drained him emotionally. He would have thought that, with Philippe’s visit at noon, he would be in the best of spirits. Had these memories of Lully done it? Maybe it was remembering the time at Versailles when he lived in constant terror of losing Philippe. It had been a nonstop battle to keep Philippe’s attention on him—a battle that he frequently lost. It was disconcerting to remember a Philippe who did not always want him around—a Philippe who preferred others to his company—to remember Philippe the aloof Prince with so many options for lovers. Yes, that must be the reason for this mental fatigue.

But he knew he was going home to a Philippe who was now totally his. His Philippe would meet him at the door with a glass of wine and lead him to the couch. His Philippe would listen to him talk and comfort him. He and his Philippe would make love and sleep safe in each other’s arms tonight. That is what he needed to remind himself of—not these memories from a long ago, distant past that no longer existed or had any bearing on his life today. By the time the car was pulling into the garage, Lorraine had calmed himself and looked forward to walking through the door to Philippe waiting for him with his nightly wine. He stopped at the door and took a long, deep, refreshing breath before he turned the knob and went in.

Philippe was waiting for him, glass of wine in hand, and not a stitch of clothes on. Lorraine laughed and took the glass from Philippe, drained it, then put his arm around Philippe’s waist and swung him around, kissing him passionately. Philippe was surprised by Lorraine’s unexpected actions and at a loss for words, but Lorraine knew exactly what he wanted to say, “Philippe, love, you make me the happiest person on this earth!” Lorraine swung Philippe around again and kissed him once more.

Philippe finally managed to ask, “Have you been drinking at work?”

“Yes, love. I am drunk on your love. Come, let’s have some more wine and sit by the fire.” There was already an open bottle and a glass for Philippe on the glass coffee table. “Pour us a drink love while I change.” Lorraine handed Philippe his empty glass. Philippe had expected Lorraine to go into the bedroom to change and was surprised when Lorraine began stripping his clothes off right in front of him, throwing them carelessly on the floor until he was as naked as Philippe. Now it was Philippe’s turn to be amused.

“I don’t know what has gotten into you, but I like it!” Philippe put Lorraine’s glass on the coffee table, then stepped up to Lorraine, put both arms around his waist and began waltzing with him around the living room.

Then Lorraine got an idea, “Wait! I have some music for us!” He went to the pile of clothes and found his shirt to pull out the chamber music disc. He went to their electronic system and put the disc in and hit “Play” then ran back to Philippe.

The chamber orchestra began to play Philippe’s tune and Lorraine made a curtsy to Philippe. “A sarabande, love?” Philippe finally understood and curtsied  back then they started a dance they had not done in over three hundred years, swinging their arms in unison, gliding across the floor, feet remembering steps made so very long ago—only they were not in 17th century attire, but were stark naked.

Philippe asked Lorraine as they danced, “This music sounds so very familiar. I know it is not Lully’s, but I cannot place whose it is.”

Lorraine smiled and said, “Love, it is your music. The tune you wrote for my runway show translated to chamber music! Isn’t it lovely?”

Philippe burst into a smile that lit up Lorraine’s heart. “Yes! Of course! Now I hear it!” They continued to dance various court dances they had known so long ago until the music ended.

It was Philippe’s turn to swing Lorraine around. Winded, they headed for the couch and the wine. As they drank their wine, Lorraine asked, “As your music master, did Lully teach you how to write music?”

Philippe looked a little shocked at the question, then blushed before answering, “No, his lessons did not include composing. He was possessive over his music and loathe to depart any teachings on how he composed it.” Lorraine saw Philippe shut down his emotions.

Lorraine decided to push the matter further, “You know, I used to watch for you to come out of Lully’s rooms after your lessons.”

Lorraine saw a sadness come across Philippe’s face, that Philippe quickly tried to hide. “And why would you do that?” Philippe’s tone now was slightly angry.

“Because, love, I was jealous. I knew you and Lully were not engaging in musical lessons.”

“How dare you insinuate—No!  I am not even going to respond to such a ridiculous idea.” Lorraine saw a mixture of anger and embarrassment on Philippe’s face.

“It’s okay, love. Everyone knew what he was. A great composer with outstanding talent, but a lecherous man with salacious desires. You couldn’t offend him by rejecting him, so you were forced to endure his advances. I saw it in your face each time you came out of his rooms after a supposed lesson.”

“You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I saw your flushed face, red, swollen lips, the bruises on your neck, your wig and clothes in disarray. Those are not things that happen when one is studying music. Did he force you to have sex, love?” Lorraine asked gently.

“No! Of course, he didn’t force me…I…uh… Please, let’s change the subject. We were having so much fun a few minutes ago.”

“Yes, we were. Let’s return to that frivolity, then!” Lorraine grabbed Philippe’s face and pulled it to his for a long, deep kiss.

His lips then went to Philippe’s neck where he blew a loud, blustery raspberry causing Philippe to jerk back in shock. When Lorraine started laughing, Philippe joined in, then they started wrestling, trying to blow raspberries on various bare spots of skin on each other’s bodies. They wound up on the floor, with Philippe sitting on Lorraine’s legs, holding Lorraine’s arms down with his hands and blowing one raspberry after another into Lorraine’s neck, with Lorraine laughing hysterically and pleading, “Enough, please stop!” between his laughs.

Philippe demanded, “If I stop and let you up, do you promise this is the end of this raspberry nonsense?”

“I promise. No more raspberries! You win.”

“Of course, I win, love. You are powerless against me.” Philippe moved his hands from Lorraine’s arms to both sides of his face and kissed him.

And, yes, Lorraine was powerless against Philippe’s growing desire. He surrendered himself wholly to it.

 

❣️   ❣️   ❣️   ❣️  ❣️

 

A while later, they were still on the floor, Philippe sitting with his back against the couch with Lorraine’s head in his lap. Philippe was softly stroking the side of Lorraine’s face; Lorraine’s arm closest to Philippe’s torso raised and stroking Philippe’s face. They were totally at peace with each other.

Philippe broke the silence. “Love, there is something you asked me earlier I did not want to answer, but I am ready to answer now.”

“And what is that?”

“You asked if Lully forced me to have sex with him—and no, he didn’t. Not at first. The first time, I barely knew him as a person and only knew of his great talent. When he made advances toward me, I was flattered and intrigued. I gave myself willingly. I don’t know, maybe I thought we might become famous lovers and that he would teach me to play and write music. My useless role as brother to the king would be replaced by a role as a talented musician and composer. I know it was naive of me. It didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t Lully’s only lover and he had no intention of passing his knowledge on to me. I voiced my desire to no longer see him but, by then, he was the family music master and there was no escaping him.”

“Why didn’t you tell your brother what was happening?”

“Oh no! I could not do that. Louis would expel Lully from court and that would have deprived all of France of his music; plus, Louis would be angry at me for getting involved with him in the first place. I could not bear for Louis to know of my folly. So, I endured the sessions in Lully’s rooms as penance. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

“Thank you, love. Now I have something to tell you about Lully. When he first came to court, he pursued me. I never liked the man and so I rejected him. I am afraid that is when he turned his sights on you. He knew I was in love with you and seducing you was revenge against me.”

“You are saying he tried to seduce you, a lowly knight, before me, a Prince?”

“Well, I was considered the most handsome man at court. And Lully always did like beauty.”

“Now, you are saying I was not handsome enough for Lully to desire me above you?”

“Okay, love, forget I ever said anything about it. I was mistaken.”

“No, you were not mistaken. You _were_ the most handsome man at court. Why do you think I fell in love with you? Even I cannot resist beauty!” Philippe bent down and kissed Lorraine.

“I don’t know about you, but I am hungry!”

“Yes, now that you mention it, I am, too. And we still need to practice our duets. Did you get the company jet to take us to Nice or do I need to book us a flight?”

“We have the jet and can leave tomorrow night at seven-thirty.”

“It is about a two-and-a-half-hour flight, maybe a little longer—we should get in about nine then. I will ensure our room will be ready. That should give us time to have dinner there at the hotel.”

“I should pack my clothes tonight to avoid being rushed when I get off work. I think it might be wise for me to send a car to pick you up at six-thirty. Then it can come to the office to get me and take us both to the airport. If I pack my bag tonight, will you remember to bring it tomorrow night?”

“Yes, I will remember.”

“You had better or else I will have no clothes to wear and will have to go naked on the streets of Nice.”

“Hmmm. That sounds intriguing. Maybe I will have a lapse of memory.”

“Don’t you dare!”

Philippe said, “I would not, because I prefer to keep your nakedness for myself. Only I should be able to take in the glory of your body.”

Lorraine laughed and kissed Philippe, whispering in his ear, “How you flatter me, love. Now, we really should get some food.”

They ate; practiced their duets; Lorraine packed; and they enjoyed another round of love-making before finally closing their eyes for the night.

The next morning Lorraine was up before the alarm again. Philippe only woke up when Lorraine was kissing him goodbye.

“Is this going to become a habit? You waking up early and avoiding our early morning sex? Are you growing tired of me?” Philippe asked.

“No, love. It is just that I have so much to do before we leave tonight. And I promise I will make it up to you this weekend. Now, don’t forget to bring my luggage with you tonight. There are two bags and I am leaving them by the front door.”

“I promise. I won’t forget.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe again, “Now, go back to sleep for a while, love. See you tonight.”

Later, at work, Lorraine went through the sketches he had done of stage clothes for Philippe and chose the best ones to present to Philippe on the jet tonight. At least he had gotten an answer from Philippe about his music. Lully had not taught Philippe anything about how he wrote. That meant the songs Philippe now wrote were his and his alone. If there was a resemblance of Philippe’s music when transformed into a chamber music piece to Lully’s, it was because Lorraine had asked for something in the French Baroque style played during Louis XIV’s reign. Lully dominated that era and had gained a monopoly on everything written at that time because he had bought the rights to all the other music to ensure his work would be the only music played. Any melody transformed into chamber music of that era would sound very much like Lully’s music. When he listened carefully to the chamber music rendition of Philippe’s melody, he could tell the differences that made it uniquely Philippe. He loved the piece more every time he listened to it and knew it would be perfect for his show.

The day went by quickly and soon Lorraine was getting into the car with Philippe on their way to the airport. Lorraine scooted over to sit close to Philippe who leaned over, took Lorraine’s face in his hands and kissed him tenderly. “Finally, I have you to myself for the next four days!” Philippe kissed Lorraine again, this time adding his tongue and passion to the kiss.

Lorraine had to finally pull back. “Philippe, when I said I’d make it up to you, I didn’t mean in the car, love.”

“Oh, that is but a down payment on what you owe me.”

“I promise you that, by the time this weekend ends, you will owe _me_ , love.”

It wasn’t much longer before they were in the air on their way south to Nice.

Lorraine had gotten up to get something from his luggage and asked one of the attendants where his bags were only to be told the three bags in front of Lorraine were the only ones that had been loaded. Lorraine walked over to Philippe and asked, “Philippe, they can’t find my luggage. Please, love, tell me you didn’t forget them! Not after I reminded you so many times.”

“Luggage? You had luggage?”

“Philippe, this isn’t funny. There were two bags by the front door.”

“Were there? Uh-oh.”

Lorraine looked at Philippe in disbelief. “Really, Philippe. Where are my bags?”

“If you say they were by the front door, then I guess they are still sitting there. I guess I forgot.”

Lorraine was now getting angry. Why didn’t Philippe listen to him better? The idea of not having anything but the clothes he was wearing for the next four days was too much. Now, he would have to spend at least a half day buying himself some new clothes. And there were other things in those bags he needed, too. This was not a good start to their little get-away.

Philippe spoke up, “Love, does this mean that now you will be walking the streets of Nice naked?” A wicked grin spread across his face before he started laughing. “Your bags are here—I had the attendants hide them and pretend they didn’t exist. I just had to see your face.”

“Why in the hell would you think this would be funny?” Lorraine was now angry.

“Because I didn’t like the way you kept telling me not to forget—like I was some forgetful child. Please, don’t get angry. It was just a joke.”

“Well, I guess I did keep harping on you about not forgetting. That wasn’t fair of me. You have planned this entire trip without my help and I should be grateful.”

Philippe pulled Lorraine down to kiss him then told the attendants to get Lorraine’s bags for him. “I’ll forgive you, if you’ll forgive me,” Philippe said.

“Okay. I am just relieved I don’t have to walk the streets of Nice naked,” Lorraine answered and they both laughed. They asked the attendant for the bottle of champagne they had ordered for the flight, then sat drinking, talking and occasionally kissing. Before they knew it, the jet was landing in the airport at Nice and they were entering the car they had ordered to take them to the Hotel Negresco. They were both impressed as they pulled up to the historic hotel on the French Riviera.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BbD2sl4W9E> _This video will give you a great tour of the hotel and its art. The song in the background grows on you, maybe. Not sure what it has to do with the Negresco. There was one that had all the things I wanted highlighted, but the person taking the video had not learned how to hold the camera still. The sweeping of the camera sort of made you dizzy and nauseous. There are other videos out there if you care to look them up._

The hotel, built in 1912 by Henry Negresco son of a Romanian innkeeper, was an excellent example of the glamour and style of the Belle Epoque (meaning Beautiful Era.) The “Belle Epoque” was an era in France from 1871 to 1914 after the Franco Prussian war when peace and prosperity brought about a time when the French arts including literature, music, theatre and the visual arts flourished. This French era overlapped that of the Victorian and Edwardian eras and many of the English aristocracy came to the French Riviera for holiday. Unfortunately, two years later WWI began and Negresco turned his hotel into a hospital for French soldiers. The hotel was sold after the war to pay off Negresco’s debts. In 1957 Jeanne Augieur bought the hotel and spent eight years restoring it to its past glory. Once again, the hotel became the meeting place for famous artists, writers, actors, politicians and other high society notables including Queen Elizabeth, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, Winston Churchill, Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Henri Matisse, to name just a few of the famous to grace its halls.

Jeanne Augieur had decorated the hotel with her vast collection of art which included five centuries of French art. She had also bequeathed the profits of the hotel to a foundation she set up to benefit animals and French culture so that her beloved hotel would remain French and would not be sold to a major hotel chain. It was made a French National Historic monument in 1974.

When Philippe and Lorraine walked into the foyer, they got their first glimpse of the artwork for which the hotel was famous. The chandelier, made of baccarat crystal, was the second commissioned by Czar Nicholas II but was not delivered because of the revolution. The first, its twin, is still housed in the Kremlin.

They walked under the overhead cupola to view the lovely Art Nouveau stained glass. Their eyes wandered to the historic paintings of French greats such as Emperor Napoleon, Empress Eugenie and Louis XV in the circular walkway around the foyer. They promised themselves they would come back tomorrow to look at the artwork up close. They marveled at 17th century Italian baroque chairs mixed with modern works of wood, metal and marble and abstract-design carpets. The variety and opulence of the furnishings and art was overwhelming to the senses.

Lorraine told Philippe, “I think it may take four days just to see all the wonderful artwork here in this hotel!”

They finally made their way up to the “Medici” junior suite that Philippe had been able to reserve for them. Lorraine gasped in delight at the rich black and white velvet tapestry furnishings and was delighted with the accents in his favorite color, purple. He kissed Philippe for the excellent choice he had made.

“Love this is just beautiful!” Lorraine exclaimed.

In the living room, the clean-lined couch and chairs were upholstered in a rich purple velvet with black piping. The drapes were a creamy white damask with a black ornate repeating pattern trimmed in black velvet. The king size bed in the next room featured the same black on cream pattern in the spread, the ornately curved and upholstered headboard, and a broad swath of the same cream on black fabric up the wall and the ceiling giving the feeling of a canopy. Bedside tables on each side of the bed consisted of ornate wooden shelves with marble inlay held up by a single, hefty, carved-wood “leg”—all attached to the wall. Each bedside table contained an ornate lidded vessel of crystal trimmed with gold on a matching crystal and gold pedestal with lights inside. A round painted gold small table with four finely carved, slender legs was topped by an ornate gold pedestaled urn planted with two living white orchid plants. A couple of bucolic landscape paintings hung on the walls. Everywhere simple, modern lines mingled among the rich ornate historical motifs.

Philippe stated the obvious, “And we have a king size bed, too! There is a beautiful tub big enough for two in the bathroom as well as a shower.”

Lorraine laughed and said, “I imagine you had certain activities in mind when you chose a room with those amenities?”

Philippe came up behind him, put his arms around Lorraine and kissed his neck. “Of course, love, I always think about those things when planning anything for us.”

Lorraine retorted, “I imagine you’d fuck me on the floor if that was all that was available.”

Philippe nuzzled Lorraine’s neck. “My dear, how well, you know me.”

“Well, let me change out of my work clothes and let’s go get us something to eat before I pass out from hunger.”

“And I shall content myself with watching you change, although it would be nice to christen that bed sooner rather than later.”

“Not unless you fancy fucking me as I lay passed out from hunger.”

“I could do that, as horny as I am. Remember you did not satisfy me this morning!”

“My god, Philippe, you are incorrigible!”

Philippe just laughed.

They went downstairs to eat, only to find that the two restaurants had stopped serving at nine-thirty because they closed at ten, but the bar was still open and offered various aperitivi. They went to the concierge and told them of their dilemma. Lorraine did not feel like walking down the avenue to find somewhere to eat but really needed something in his belly. The concierge told them the offerings at the hotel’s bar aptly named “Le Bar” were vegetarian samossas, seared tuna, smoked salmon on blini, king prawn or octopi tempura, foie gras and a variety of macarons. He also said that he could probably get a niçoise salad with seared ahi tuna for them if they ordered in the next thirty minutes.

Lorraine said, “Yes, let’s do it. We can order several different things with the salad and that should satisfy me.”

They went into the bar where the walls were covered by English-style rich wooden panels. Small round marble-topped tables were surrounded by casual seating arrangements—wood trim golden-brown velvet settees and chairs repeated the casual English pub style. Philippe told the waiter what the concierge had said about the niçoise salad and that they wanted two of them right away. The waiter left them an aperitivo and bar menu for them to look at as he left to put the order in for the salads before it was too late. He also recommended any of the cocktails under the “Une Epoque—Un Cocktail” and the “Un Barman—Un Cocktail” portions of the bar menu. The first consisted of favorite cocktails from barmen and barmaids over time and the second, cocktails created by the “chef barman” since 1936. He also told them the cocktail of the month was the DB Cooper and gave them a card with the ingredients on it.

They looked at the aperitivo menu and Lorraine decided he wanted the vegetarian samossas, smoked salmon on blini, the king prawn tempura and the octopi tempura to go with the salad as well as the macarons.

Philippe said, “Really, you are going to eat all that?”

“Yes. I told you I am hungry. I am afraid that might not be enough if the portions are too small.”

“If you are still hungry when we get to the room, maybe there is something I could offer you,” Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear as he took Lorraine’s hand and moved it to his bulge.

“I may just take you up on that offer, whether I am still hungry or not. Now behave yourself, people are watching.” Lorraine whispered back and moved Philippe’s hand to his knee.

Philippe decided to order the salmon on blini and the king prawn tempura. “Will you share one of your macarons with me?” he asked Lorraine who quipped back, “No, get your own order of macarons!” They decided to go with the suggestion to order a cocktail instead of wine.

Philippe wanted the Great Dragon (Gin Monkey 47, Black Cointreau, fresh orange juice, raspberry syrup and fresh lemon juice) while Lorraine decided to try the DB Cooper (Grey Goose Vodka, St Germain Liquor, pear juice, fresh raspberries, fresh lemon juice and fresh coriander).

When the waiter came back, they gave their order and were surprised when their salads came very quickly. Lorraine took one look and decided that it was a very good salad and would be a good start to satisfying his hunger. The salad came in a square plate filled with an assortment of greens and was topped with about seven thick slices of ahi tuna, lightly cooked on the edges and raw in the middle with a sprinkling of freshly cooked anchovies. Celery, tomato wedges, radishes and wedges of hardboiled eggs surrounded the tuna. A bowl of house dressing came with the salad.  Philippe, on the other hand, groaned and complained that it was a very big salad. He offered Lorraine some of his ahi tuna and the little anchovies, which Lorraine graciously accepted. When the cocktails were served, Lorraine finished his off quickly and ordered another one. Philippe just sipped on his. He also picked at his salad and left about half of it including all the celery, which he was not fond of.

The rest of their aperitivo order came, and Lorraine was happy with the serving portions. Each item came on a five-inch plate, so he had four of the fried samossas, two blinis with salmon on them, four each of the prawn and octopus tempura and six flavors of macarons. Philippe ate all his salmon on blini and his prawn tempura. He ate two of the macarons and put the others in a napkin to take back to the room. Lorraine left nothing on his plate and suggested they order another cocktail before heading back to the room.

Philippe looked at Lorraine and asked, “Are you drunk already?”

“No just a little tipsy. The cocktail went down on an empty stomach. There’s food in there now, so I’ll be okay.”

Philippe whispered, “You better not disappoint me. I’m going to get satisfied whether you are conscious or not.”

“Oh, I’ll be conscious, love. I promise you.” Lorraine gave Philippe a quick kiss. Philippe, however, leaned in and gave Lorraine a long, passionate kiss.

Lorraine fanned himself and asked, “Do you want to just throw me on the floor and take me now, love?”

Philippe answered, “I’d do that if I didn’t think we’d get kicked out of here.”

“Please, let me order one more cocktail. Then we can go to our room and you can do whatever you want with me.”

Lorraine got his way and ordered a specialty of Le Bar, Mint-Berries. It consisted of fresh mint, lime, Alain Milliat raspberry juice, Grey Goose Vodka, Chambord (a raspberry-based liqueur) and Taittinger Champagne. Philippe ordered another Great Dragon.

At ten, a female singer took the small stage and began singing a beautiful French love song. The bar was starting to get very busy, and Lorraine put his arm around Philippe’s waist and began nibbling on his ear lobe. Philippe tried to discourage him saying, “We are out in public!” but Lorraine pointed out several other male-male couples sitting around the bar who had no problem showing each other affection. In fact, there were couples of all genders showing many different levels of affection, including one man kissing the décolleté of a fairly buxom young woman.

“Philippe, no one cares. Especially in this younger crowd.” Lorraine cradled Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him. It started out slow and sweet but grew in intensity with Lorraine pulling Philippe to him and running his hands down Philippe’s back over his shirt, then pushing their way up under his shirt. Lorraine was feeling very happy and loose, enjoying the romantic music and his lover beside him.

When Philippe whispered in his ear that it was time to go to their room, Lorraine begged for another cocktail and a little more time to enjoy the singer. The cocktails were beginning to affect Philippe, too, so he gave in and responded to Lorraine’s hands and lips. It had been a long time since he had made out in public, but in this atmosphere, it was intoxicatingly sensuous. To touch, but not be able to consummate, made him feel even more aroused. He ran his hand up and down the inside of Lorraine’s thigh, teasing him as he kissed his neck, returning to his lips, then working back to his neck again.

Then his hand moved to Lorraine’s crotch where he fondled and groped Lorraine through the material of his pants. At first, Lorraine moaned in his ear and enjoyed the attention, but Philippe did not let up and soon Lorraine was whispering desperately in his ear, “Philippe, stop, please. Oh god, please stop.” Philippe ignored him and continued, enjoying the reaction Lorraine was having and somewhat forgetting where they were at. When Lorraine tried to push his hand away, he grabbed Lorraine’s hand with his free hand. Lorraine’s other hand was not strong enough to pry the groping hand away.

Philippe could feel that Lorraine’s cock was hard now, and he whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I bet you’d like to fuck me about now, love, wouldn’t you? If you’d let us go up to the room, we could be doing just that right now. But I think this is more fun, don’t you?”

Lorraine moaned in answer. Philippe took that as agreement and continued until Lorraine buried his face in Philippe’s chest to muffle his cries of, “Oh god, Philippe, oh god!” Philippe then realized that Lorraine was having an orgasm as he felt the cock in his hand throb and felt the wetness seeping through the material. He had not realized Lorraine was that close to coming, but then his senses were blurred from the cocktails. As Philippe removed his hand, Lorraine moaned a few more times into his chest, then sat back.

He looked at Philippe and finally said, “Are you happy, love?”

Philippe wasn’t sure what to say and finally answered, “I guess the question really is are you happy?”

“I asked you to stop and you didn’t. Didn’t we agree that if one of us says to stop, we stop?”

“I didn’t think you really meant it. I’m sorry.”

“I am so humiliated!”

“Love look around. No one even noticed! It’s dark in here and the music is loud. With those flashing lights, you can’t even really see what is happening. Everyone is into their own thing. People are looking at their own partners—I mean look at that couple over there. No one even cares.”

“Okay, then you let me do you. Let’s see how you feel about that.” Lorraine reached over and grabbed Philippe’s cock through his pants. “Oh, so you’re already half way there!” Lorraine started moving his hand up and down pressing on Philippe’s cock. “Does that feel good? Yes, I can feel it responding.”

“Not so loud, love.”

“Loud? I thought you said the music drowned everything out.”

“You’re practically shouting, love. I didn’t shout. I whispered in your ear.”

“You are going to let me do this to you, then?” Lorraine moved his hand faster.

Philippe moaned and then said softly, “Do I have a choice?  I’d rather go upstairs and fuck you. But if this is what you want.” Philippe leaned over and started sucking on Lorraine’s neck.  Lorraine was finding it hard to concentrate on what he was doing with Philippe sucking his neck. It wasn’t like they were in private. He had to try and be discreet, but that was hard to do. He withdrew his hand.

“Okay, you win. I’ll wait until we get to our room.”

“Are you about finished with that drink?” Philippe asked.

“Yes. Can you see the wet spot on my pants from over there?”

“No,” Philippe lied. “I’m afraid this erection is going to be hard to hide though.”

“We should stay out of well-lit and crowded areas, then. Here comes the waiter so we can ask for the bill.”

“Just tell them to put it on our account.”

“Still, we have to sign for it. I’ll keep all the receipts, so we can reconcile them later.”

Philippe kissed Lorraine softly. “I’m glad you keep track of all our bills and such. I don’t like dealing with that stuff unless I have to.”

Soon they were on their way to their rooms. In the foyer, they took the outer walkway behind the columns. Whenever anyone was coming up on them, they stopped to look at a painting or artwork until the people walked by. They both were a little unsteady on their feet and prone to fits of giggling. Once they got off the main floor, the hallways were less populated. The only problem was that they forgot where their room was.

“I think it was down that hallway,” Lorraine commented.

“No,  I think we are on the wrong floor.”

“What floor are we on, anyway?” Lorraine asked. That question caused Philippe to laugh until Lorraine said, “I bet _you_ don’t know! Tell me!” Then they both started laughing.

Philippe finally said, “I think we are going to have to go back downstairs and ask the concierge to give us directions to our room.”

“I’m sure he is used to inebriated guests getting lost.”

“At least my erection has gone down.”

“But my pants aren’t dry, yet. You stand in front of me, okay?”

“Sure, whatever you want. It’s going to look funny.”

“Okay, how do we get back downstairs?”

“I see a sign that should take us to an exit, and that should take us downstairs. Look, there’s a map.”

Lorraine walked up to it and squinted. “I can’t read the room names or numbers.”

“That’s probably because you are too drunk. Move and let me look at that.” Philippe studied the map. He didn’t want to admit that he was having a hard time reading the room names and numbers, too.

“Are you going to stare at that map all night?”

Then they saw a bellhop come out of a room and Lorraine shouted, “Excuse me! Can you help us? We’re lost.”

The young man turned and walked over to them. Philippe said to him, “Sorry, my friend here shouted so loud. He’s a little drunk.”

“You are, too, Philippe!”

The bellhop spoke up, “I would be glad to help you. What do you need?”

“We need to get back to our rooms and we are completely turned around,” Philippe explained.

“Have you been enjoying the hospitality of our fine bar? How was the music tonight?”

Lorraine asked, “Hey, how did you know?” Philippe jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. “Oww!”

The bellhop smiled and asked, “What room are you in? I’d be glad to take you to it, so you don’t get lost.”

Philippe answered, “It’s room, uh…” He fumbled in his pocket for the key, “Yes, here, it is on the key.” Philippe handed it to the bellhop.

“You gentlemen are in the right place but on the wrong floor. It is four more floors up. Let me take you to the elevator and take you to it. That is a very nice room, isn’t it?”

Philippe answered, “Yes. We haven’t spent much time in it. We just got here at nine thirty tonight.”

“Is this your first time visiting our hotel?”

“Yes, first time we’ve been to Nice, too,” Lorraine answered. They had reached the elevator and were on their way up to their floor as the conversation continued.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I told you we were on the wrong floor.”

The bellhop asked, “Have you two been together long?”

“A while. We just got married almost two months ago,” Lorraine answered.

“It hasn’t been that long,” Philippe interrupted.

They reached their floor and the bellhop led them down the hall as he said, “That is so wonderful that you are married. I really would love it if my partner wanted to get married, but he says it is too soon. I don’t know, a year-and-a- half seems like a long time to me. What do you think?”

Lorraine said, “That is definitely enough time. You should get down on your knee and ask him. Don’t wait for him to ask you!”

“Or look for a new partner!” Philippe retorted.

“Philippe! You shouldn’t say that! If I remember right, you were reluctant to tie the knot. Should I have traded you in on someone new?”

The bellhop intervened again, “Looks like we are almost to your room.”

They reached the room and Philippe fumbled with the card key and couldn’t get it to work.

“Let me help you with that. These card keys can be tricky at times. Yes, there it is.” He handed the key back to Philippe. “You gentlemen enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Philippe put his arm around Lorraine and answered, “We plan to. Thanks for your help.”

Once inside the room with the door shut, Philippe and Lorraine broke down laughing. “God, he must think we are complete idiots,” laughed Lorraine.

“Actually, I think we are pretty dumb. I couldn’t even remember what room we were in.”

Lorraine said, “I think we should call room service and order a bottle of wine to celebrate our first night here!”

“Are you sure about that. Do we need more alcohol?”

“Of course, we do. Let’s get something to eat with our wine.”

“Are you hungry again?

“A little. I didn’t have breakfast and only had a small lunch and no supper at all.”

“Here, have a macaron.” Philippe pulled out the napkin with his macarons in it and offered them to Lorraine.

“No, that’s not what I had in mind. I was thinking about ordering cheese and fruit or crackers and a dip or some snack like that.”

“Okay, whatever you want. Here’s the food menu. Let me look at the wine menu to see what wine to order while you decide what food you want. Oh, they have Baudin Pouilly Fumé from the Loire Valley. I’ve been wanting to try that.  I hope your snack goes with white wine.”

“Do you want anything to eat?”

“No, I’ve got my macarons if I get hungry.”

“Well,  I see a selection of cheeses with a green salad but no fruit. Maybe they could slice up whatever fruit they have and send that. I really want something like a pear or an apple.”

“Do you want to order, or do you want me to?”

“You order since you know what wine you want. Just ask for the selection of cheeses with the salad and ask what fruits they have.”

Philippe dialed room service and asked them for the wine and the cheese and what kind of fresh fruit they might be able to slice and put with the cheese. “He says they have strawberries, pears, apricots and figs.”

“Have them send some strawberries and a sliced pear, then.”

Philippe made the order, then turned to Lorraine. “I hope they don’t take long. I want to get out of these clothes and take a shower.”

“You can go take a shower and I will wait for room service.”

“No, I wanted to take a shower with you.”

“Didn’t you say they had a really nice bathtub? Maybe a nice soak while we drink our wine and eat our fruit and cheese would be nice.”

“Yes, let’s go take a look!”

They went into the bathroom and were very happy with the large tub. There were even scented oils and bath bubbles they could use.

Lorraine said, “Oh, I feel relaxed just looking at that tub!”

Philippe answered, “Maybe we should take this time to do a little unpacking and get settled in.”

Lorraine agreed, and they went to get the bag with the toiletries in them to put in the bathroom. They also hung up some of their clothes to let the wrinkles fall out. They didn’t get a lot done before there was a knock at the door and their wine and cheese was delivered.

Lorraine confiscated a foot stool from the living area to bring to the bathroom to hold the platter with the fruit and cheese. Philippe brought the wine bucket with the ice and wine and two glasses into the bathroom. They set it all up and turned on the water.

“Which bath oil do you want? There’s orange blossom, vanilla, sandalwood, and ocean,” Philippe asked.

“How does the ocean smell?”

Philippe opened it and put some on his finger to hold under Lorraine’s noise.

“Oh, that’s good. It has a fresh salty smell.”

Philippe smelled it. “I don’t know.” He put a little of the orange blossom on another finger and sniffed it. “I think I like this orange blossom.”

“You do know what it reminds you of, don’t you?”

“No, what?”

“The orange gardens at Versailles.”

“Yes, I guess that is where my love for that comes from. Do you like it?”

“Yes, that is what we should use.”

Philippe poured the orange blossom oil into the running water. “Now, all we need to do is get naked.” He walked over to Lorraine and put his arms around him and kissed him. His hands unbuttoned Lorraine’s shirt as they kissed. His lips traveled down to Lorraine’s chest as he pulled the shirt off him and dropped it onto the floor. Lorraine reached his hands out to pull Philippe’s tee shirt over his head. They kissed again while their hands worked to unbutton and unzip each other’s pants.

Lorraine took Philippe’s now limp cock in his hand and said, “Looks like I’ll have to work on this again.”

Philippe murmured in Lorraine’s ear, “At least I gave you an orgasm, I got nothing.”

Lorraine bit Philippe’s neck and answered, “I will remedy that. Don’t worry.”

They kissed again, then remembered the bathwater just in time to turn it off before it got too full. Lorraine stepped in and sat down. Philippe got in and sat facing Lorraine. He got the two glasses of wine he had poured and handed one to Lorraine and sipped out of the other.

“This is very good wine. I’ll have to remember it.” Then he took several long drinks to drain the glass while he ran his foot over Lorraine’s chest. The smell of oranges filled their noses. Philippe took a rag that was folded over the edge of the tub and dipped it into the water, then put the soap into it and got the rag soapy so he could wash Philippe’s feet, rinsing them in the water afterwards. Lorraine picked up the foot and sucked the toes.

“Your toes taste like oranges! This oil is flavored as well as scented!”

Philippe soaped another rag and washed Lorraine’s feet and rinsed them, followed by sucking his toes. “Yes, you are right.” He picked up the other foot, washed it and sucked those toes, too.

“I don’t like you across the tub from me. Stand up, turn around and sit between my legs so I can rub your back,” Philippe demanded.

Lorraine followed Philippe’s instructions. Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and kissed the back of his neck. “That’s better.”

Lorraine leaned back and tilted his face towards Philippe, so Philippe could kiss him. Lorraine’s hands were traveling up and down Philippe’s legs as they kissed. After the kiss, Philippe’s lips trailed down Lorraine’s throat as far as it could go while his fingertips caressed Lorraine’s chest. He soaped another rag with the orange blossom soap and washed Lorraine’s back as far as he could get, washed his shoulders and chest, then moved his hand under Lorraine’s right arm and reached around to wash his stomach area. He moved the rag to the other hand and washed the other side of Lorraine’s stomach area. Then he stopped so they could drink some wine.

It was time to change positions. They both stood up and embraced, turning so Lorraine could now sit with his back against the tub and Philippe could sit between his legs. It was Lorraine’s turn to wash Philippe, which he did, taking time to kiss Philippe’s shoulders in the process. With the washing done, they could settle back and drink their wine and nibble on cheese and fruit. Lorraine ran the back of his hand across Philippe’s back and his fingertips down his chest. He fed him slices of pear and his favorite, strawberries. They had had two glasses of wine when they decided the water was getting too cold and they got out. They were drying each other off, when Philippe knelt and sucked on Lorraine.

“Yes, it does taste like oranges. And it has recovered from the bar!” Philippe stood up and kissed Lorraine, hugging and pressing himself against him. He then disengaged and poured the last of the wine into their glasses and handed one to Lorraine. They drank it between short kisses with their other arms around the other’s waist.

Lorraine sucked and licked Philippe’s neck getting his share of orange flavor. He whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Are you ready to be satisfied?” as he pushed Philippe towards the bed. “Maybe we should put a dry towel on the bed under us. That looks like an expensive bedspread.” Lorraine went back to the bathroom, got two towels and the bottle of lube. He spread the towels on the bed, carefully pressing out all folds and wrinkles.” He put his arms around Philippe and kissed him again. With his arms still around Philippe, he fell to the bed taking Philippe with him.

“Scoot onto the bed further, love,” Lorraine instructed Philippe. They scooted until both their bodies were entirely on the bed. Lorraine was now laying on his side beside the prone Philippe. He leaned over and kissed Philippe while his hand traveled down Philippe’s body. He grasped his limp member and began pulling, stroking and squeezing. He covered Philippe’s moan with his mouth and kissed him continuing his hand movements. After several minutes of kissing, his lips began moving down Philippe’s body. He kissed Philippe’s neck, nibbled on a nipple, sucked on his belly then kissed his way down to his now mildly aroused cock. His lips and tongue teased, licking up and down, swirling around the head, and finally took it into his mouth to begin arousing in earnest. Philippe moaned and grabbed the bedspread with both hands as he began gyrating his hips to coincide with the movement of Lorraine’s mouth.

Then Lorraine stopped. Philippe’s hands tried to pull his head back down, but Lorraine had other plans. Lorraine opened the lube and applied it liberally. He turned over to where his back was now to Philippe and pushed himself into Philippe’s body. Philippe understood what he was doing and pulled Lorraine’s hips down. His hands went to Lorraine’s buttocks and began caressing and squeezing them, his fingers slipping into the crack.

Lorraine grunted when he felt Philippe’s finger penetrate him, then moaned when he felt Philippe’s cock penetrate him. He pushed himself slowly backwards onto Philippe and moaned loudly as he felt Philippe pushing into him, deeper and deeper. Philippe then shifted so he could get to his knees bringing Lorraine’s hips up with him, forcing Lorraine also to his knees. Lorraine was now resting his head on the bed with his hands out to brace himself as Philippe’s thrusting intensified. Philippe reached an arm around Lorraine’s waist, so his hand could reach him, and he began stroking Lorraine in time with his own thrusting. Lorraine was moaning in pleasure with each thrust and stroke. Philippe began gasping and making small noises as he got nearer his release. Then he let out one very long moan as he throbbed inside Lorraine and ejected his seed into him. He thrust a few more times then was done. He wrapped his arms around Lorraine’s waist and leaned against him to catch his breath.

He withdrew from Lorraine and pushed Lorraine onto the bed on his back. Philippe then leaned over and began stimulating Lorraine. After a few minutes, he stopped and leaned over to whisper in Lorraine’s ear, “Do you want me to continue, or do you want to fuck me?”

Lorraine uttered, “Fuck you.” Philippe kissed Lorraine then he turned around on his hands and knees. Lorraine got to his knees and now his arms were around Philippe’s waist as Philippe knelt on all fours. Lorraine now prepared Philippe with the oil, making Philippe moan as his fingers joined the preparation. Philippe moaned as he felt Lorraine pushing into him, working his way slowly inside. Lorraine was taking it slow and easy, but Philippe told him, “More, faster.” As Lorraine strengthened his thrusts, Philippe started moaning loudly, spurring Lorraine on with the occasional “more!’’ or “faster!” Suddenly Philippe shouted, “Oh god!” and Lorraine felt him shudder. Lorraine was close to his own release and intensified his thrusting making Philippe moan and whimper.

Now it was time for Lorraine to cry out, “Oh god!” with each thrust as the nerves exploded and he felt the intense waves wash over him. After a few last thrusts to squeeze out the last of his seed, he pushed Philippe down and collapsed on top of him. He rolled off Philippe, so Philippe could turn face up and they lay side by side on the bed.

“Are you satisfied now, love?” Lorraine asked.

“Very,” was the reply.


	67. Naked in Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the first day of their get away to Nice, Lorraine wakes first and does a little tidying of their room that lands him in an embarrassing predicament. This was not the way he wanted to begin the day. When he is finally reunited with Philippe, things don't go well. Lorraine is in a very grumpy mood. Food and some very potent mimosas remedy the mood and they finally get the beginning they wanted.

The next morning, Lorraine woke up first. He had a headache from the previous night’s alcohol and was craving coffee. Philippe still slept next to him. Lorraine slipped quietly out of bed. In the bathroom he saw the remnants of their snack from last night. He gathered the dishes and brought them out to the sitting area. He gathered the empty wine bottle and glasses, too. He decided to put it all outside the door, so housekeeping could pick them up. He thought about putting his robe on, but it was in the bedroom and he was afraid of waking Philippe. He opened the door to the hallway and stuck his head out. The hallway was empty. He went back to get the dishes and glasses, balancing them in his arms, and opened the door. He stepped out, using his foot to hold the door open, and placed the dishes on the floor. One of the glasses fell over and started rolling towards the middle of the hallway. Lorraine grabbed for it, and in the process stepped away from the door which slammed shut. Lorraine looked frantically around and was relieved no one was in the hallway. He turned the doorknob, but the door was locked—of course! He knocked on the door hoping Philippe would hear and wake up. When that produced no results, he knocked harder. Philippe would have to be such a heavy sleeper!

Fearing that at any moment another guest would come out of their room, Lorraine decided to use the tray to cover up his exposed genitals. He tried banging on the door again. Still, Philippe did not respond. Lorraine had no idea what to do. How long would it be before Philippe finally woke up and heard him banging? How long could he bang before someone complained? How long could he stand out here before someone would come down the hallway and see him?

The last question was answered when the door across the hall opened and a woman and child stepped out. Lorraine turned so his ass was against the door and made sure the tray was covering his front. The woman looked at Lorraine in shock. All Lorraine could think of was to say, “Bonjour! Good morning!”

The child, a little boy about six, said, “Look mommy, a naked man!”

The woman covered her child’s eyes and glared at Lorraine. “You disgusting man! What is the meaning of this?”

Lorraine blushed crimson. “Madame, I am so sorry! I was putting these dishes out and the door slammed behind me.”

“You didn’t bother to put on a robe or some clothes before opening your door? Where is your decency?”

“Locked in that room, I am sorry to say. Do you think you could ask someone downstairs to please come up and let me in to my room? I am afraid my husband is still sleeping, and he is not responding to my knocks.”

“Husband?” the woman said with a derisive curl of her lip.

Lorraine could see the revulsion in her face and was growing angry himself.

“Look, you can judge me all you want, but I really need you to get someone downstairs to help me.”

The woman grabbed her child by the hand and led him away, turning her back on Lorraine and walking quickly to the elevator.

Lorraine called out to her, “Please, get someone to help me!”

His words fell on deaf ears as the elevator doors closed. Lorraine hoped that the woman would at least make a complaint to someone who would come up and let him in his room. He turned to bang on the door again. “Damn, Philippe, wake up!” he thought.

Then a thought occurred to him. They had made such a joke about him walking about Nice naked—and now he here he was—naked in a hallway in a hotel in Nice. He laughed to himself then thought, “No, this isn’t funny. Not at all.” He knocked on the door again, then decided to sit and wait a while before knocking again. He did not want to disturb other guests and was hoping the woman would say something to the concierge or at least make a complaint about him. He made sure the tray covered his privates as he sat there. Damn, he needed some coffee! His head was beginning to really throb.

After a while he knew the woman had not said anything to anyone downstairs. If she had, they would have been here already. He sighed and banged on the door again. Still, there was no reply from within. He looked down the hall and noticed a seating area. There was a magazine on a table by a chair. It occurred to him that if he could get that magazine, then he could use it to cover his rear while the tray covered his front. The seating area was very close to the elevator. Maybe he could make it downstairs and to the concierge by staying in the dimly lit walkway around the foyer. He thought it was still early and maybe there wouldn’t be many people up at this hour. The alternative was to stay here, banging on the door until he either woke Philippe or disturbed a neighbor. He was going stir crazy sitting here and who knew how long Philippe would sleep after all the alcohol they had drunk last night. Hell, he wished he was still sleeping and not out here in the hall naked, with a throbbing headache.

He waited a little longer, then decided if he waited too much longer, people would start coming out and it would be even more embarrassing. He stood up and put the tray in front of him and kept his back to the wall as he slowly made his way to the sitting area. He could just sit in the chair covering himself up until someone came out of a room. Maybe that person would be willing to let the concierge know of his problem. But how much longer would that be? He decided to just go for it and try to make it down to the concierge. His head was really hurting now, and the tension of his situation was not helping. The elevator was just feet away. In his head he tried to remember where the elevator was in relation to the concierge desk, but he couldn’t remember. He would just have to take a chance.

He stood up and made sure both his front and back were covered and quickly made a sprint for the elevator. When the doors opened to the lobby, he peeked his head out to see where the concierge desk was. It wasn’t too far away and there were not many people up and about in the foyer. He decided to make a wild dash for the concierge desk. The look on the face of the man at the concierge desk was priceless as a panting, naked Lorraine ran up to him.

“Please help me! I have locked myself out of my room!” pleaded Lorraine.

The concierge took in the situation and responded quickly, “Quick, sir, come in this room” as he pointed to a door next to the desk.

Lorraine stepped to the door but both hands were occupied holding the tray and magazine that kept him from exposing himself. The concierge stepped away from the desk, and went to open the door to let Lorraine in.

“Thank god! This is so embarrassing. I just opened the door to put the dishes from our snack last night outside and the door accidentally closed on me. My husband is a very sound sleeper and did not hear me pounding on the door. Oh, and I am Philippe Lorraine and we are staying in the Medici suite. I forget what the room number is.”

“Glad to meet you, Mr. Lorraine. We need to get you some clothes. Please have a seat in that chair. Wait here, I will be right back.”

“Thank you so much for your help!” Lorraine put the magazine on the chair and sat on it. The concierge left. Lorraine breathed a sigh of relief. This was so humiliating. About ten minutes later, the concierge came back with a pair of pants and a shirt.

“These are from one of our bellboys. He is about your size and height.”

“I don’t care if they fit, just as long as they cover certain areas of my body!” Lorraine stood up and put the pants on; then he took the shirt and put that on, too. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Lorraine said, “Just one more thing, if you don’t mind. The lady who is in the room across from our suite came out with her young boy and I am afraid I totally offended her. Can you see that she is sent some flowers and some candy for the boy? If you have some paper and a pen, I would like to write her a note. What is her name?”

“Yes, come over to my desk. Her name is Madame Latour.”

They stepped over to the desk and the concierge gave Lorraine some paper and a pen. Lorraine wrote:

_“My dear Madame Latour,_

_I profusely apologize for my state of undress at our meeting this morning. Please accept these flowers for you and this candy for your son as a token of my regret at having offended your sensibilities this morning. I hope you have a delightful stay in Nice. If you are ever in Paris, I invite you to come visit my fashion shop. Just tell my people your name and they will see to it that you get a discount if you are interested in any of my fashions._

_With my sincerest apologies, Monsieur Philippe Lorraine of the House of Lorraine, Paris.”_

Lorraine handed the note to the concierge. “Please see that this is delivered with the flowers and candy. Thank you so very much for all your help!”

“Yes, I will see that she gets it. Now if you don’t mind waiting, I will get a bellhop to take you to your room and let you in. You can drop the clothes off here at the desk when you are done with them.”

A short while later, Lorraine was standing outside his room waiting for the bellhop to open the door for him. When the door opened, he thanked the bellhop and entered. He saw Philippe sitting on the couch naked. His hair was still disheveled, and he still had stubble on his face, so he could not have been up for very long.

Philippe jumped up when he saw Lorraine enter the room. “Where have you been? I was starting to worry about you! And where did you get those clothes and why are you barefoot?”

“Well, you could not have worried long! Not unless you ignored me banging on our door.”

“Banging on our door?”

“Yes, I decided to tidy up a little and when I was putting the dishes from our snack outside the door, I accidentally locked myself out. I banged on the door for quite a while, but you never answered.”

“Sorry, you know what a heavy sleeper I am. But why those clothes and no shoes? I still don’t understand.”

Lorraine had hoped he could slip in quietly and not have to tell Philippe what had happened—especially the part about being naked.

“Well, if you must know, I was naked when I got locked out.”

It took a moment for Philippe to understand the entirety of what Lorraine had said.

“Naked? How did you get those clothes, then?”

Lorraine frowned as he said, “If you must know, I covered myself with the tray from the fruit and cheese and my ass with a magazine from a table down the hall and made my way to the concierge desk.”

Philippe started laughing. Just a chuckle at first, but it grew to hysterics as the full image of what Lorraine was saying became visible in Philippe’s mind. Between laughs, Philippe managed to say, “You went almost naked down to the foyer?” Then he started laughing again.

“Well, I am glad to see that my humiliation amuses you so much.”

Philippe forced himself to stop laughing and got his composure back.

“Sorry, but the image is too—well, bizarre. Imagine, the great fashion designer, Philippe Lorraine of the House of Lorraine, walking around the foyer of the most famous hotel in Nice without any clothes!”

“I do not see the humor in this at all. I have a headache and need some coffee.”

“I woke up expecting some special vacation sex from you and was surprised to find you missing. All you can think about is coffee?”

“Yes. I do not feel in the amorous mood at all after my harrowing experience. And especially not after you have so rudely laughed at me. I am going to change into my own clothes and get some breakfast. You can join me, or not.” Lorraine went into the bedroom to change.

Philippe followed him, “Love, I am sorry for laughing but you do have to admit it is quite amusing.”

“No, I do not see the amusement in it at all. Maybe I should push you out that door and lock it on you and see how you feel about being naked in a hotel hallway.” From the wardrobe, Lorraine took a shirt and some pants that he had hung up the night before.

Philippe came up behind Lorraine and put his arms around him and kissed his neck. “Come back to bed, love, and I will make it up to you to show you how sorry I am for laughing.”

“I do not believe you are sorry at all. You just want your morning sex. As I said, I am not in the mood. Maybe after I have had some coffee and breakfast, I will feel differently.”

“Food again? Why are you so hungry? If you were a woman, I would almost think you were pregnant with your sudden urge to eat so much.”

Lorraine pulled away from Philippe and turned to face him. From the scowl on Lorraine’s face, Philippe knew his little joke was probably the wrong thing to say.

“Love, why are you so moody? It was only a jest.”

“Oh, so I am moody now?”

Philippe threw up his hands in exasperation. “Love, I didn’t mean it that way. It seems I can’t say anything to please you this morning.”

“That is because I have had a trying experience and I need coffee and food. Are you coming to breakfast with me or not?

“Yes, I will come to breakfast with you.”

Philippe reached for some clothes to wear. They both got dressed in silence, combed their hair, washed their faces and shaved, then brushed their teeth. Lorraine folded the loaned clothes neatly then went over to the coffee table to pick up the room key. Philippe followed him out the door and put his arm around his waist.

“Do you mind?” Philippe asked about the arm around the waist.

“No, I don’t.”

Downstairs, they went to the concierge’s desk, so Lorraine could return the clothing.

“Thank you, Mr.  Lorraine. I am glad I could be of service to you. I have arranged for the flowers and candy to be sent as you asked. Is there anything else you need of me this morning?”

“No, you have been a wonderful help to me. Thank you.”

As they left the desk, Philippe asked, “What flowers and candy was he talking about?”

Lorraine explained about the woman and her boy and it took all of Philippe’s control not to laugh again.

“Thank you for not laughing, although I can see you find it amusing.”

“Maybe after some coffee and breakfast you will be able to see the humor in it, too, love.” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s cheek.

They went to the Brassiere la Rotonde for breakfast.  There was a large table with a beautiful breakfast spread of cheese, pastries, and fruits with urns of coffee and tea, and carafes of fruit juices set up for the guests. The place was bustling with people, many with families.  That wasn’t surprising considering the  restaurant’s carousel décor based around a collection of 18th century antique wooden carousel horses. It was a whimsical, fun place full of color and gaiety.

Lorraine suggested they sit upstairs since downstairs was filled with children, many running around noisily. The maître ‘d was glad to oblige and took them upstairs. They slid into a booth to sit side by side. It was much quieter up here. Philippe slid his hand onto Lorraine’s knee.

“We have a little more privacy up here, love,” Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear.

“Be careful how far up you slide that hand. I am here to eat, not be fondled.”

Philippe sighed, “Yes, love. Let me know when you are ready to be fondled.” He removed his hand and picked up his menu. “I think I am going to have a mimosa.”

“I want coffee first.”

“What do you want to eat? I think I might like to have either waffles or a scone.”

“I want this breakfast with the bacon and eggs and maybe a scone, instead of the toast.”

“I think I am going to have a waffle and see if they can top it with strawberries,” Philippe decided.

The server came by with a cart and asked if they would like coffee or something to drink.

“Yes, coffee, please and two sugars,” responded Lorraine.

The server picked up a coffee cup and saucer. He poured the coffee and set it on the table in the saucer and put a basket with a variety of sugars on the table. “And you, sir? Coffee too?”

“No, I’d like a mimosa. Do I order that from you?”

“I can let your waiter know. Meanwhile, would you like anything else? I have coffee, tea, water, several different juices, and milk.”

“Just some water, please.”

“Yes, I could use some water, too, thank you.”

The server left two waters for them. A few minutes later their waiter came over to speak to Philippe.

“Sir, we have a regular mimosa, but we also have a special Negresco Mimosa that combines the mimosa ingredients with that of a Moscow mule drink. It contains lime, vodka, ginger beer, prosecco and orange juice. It is quite good.”

“Okay, I’ll try the Negresco Mimosa. Thank you.”

The waiter turned to Lorraine, “Will you want a cocktail after you finish your coffee, sir?”

“Oh hell, if he’s going to drink I may as well, too. Yes, give me one of those Negresco Mimosa’s too. Could I have some more coffee first, though?”

“Yes sir. The server will be right here with your coffee and I will get you a Negresco Mimosa, too. Are you ready to order your food or would you like me to wait a bit?”

Lorraine spoke up, “I am ready to order. I would like your two eggs, over easy, with bacon and pommes frites, and could I have a blueberry-walnut scone to go with that instead of the toast?”

“Yes, sir, we can do that for you. And you, sir?”

“I’d like the waffle, and could I have strawberries to go on top of that?”

“Yes, we can put sliced fresh strawberries on that. We also have a strawberry syrup that is amazing. Would you like whipped cream also?”

 “Yes, I’d like the strawberry syrup and whipped cream.”

“Would you like an egg, bacon or sausage to go with that? We make our own sausages and they are quite good.”

“Okay, add sausage to it, too. Guess I will have to settle for your sausage since I didn’t get my regular morning sausage.” Lorraine elbowed Philippe hard in the side. “Owww!”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Oh, never mind that last comment. Just the sausage.”

The waiter repeated the order back to them and left.

Philippe asked, “Why did you elbow me so hard? What did I say?”

“You know very well what you said. If you don’t stop complaining about not getting your morning blow job, you might not get one at all.”

“I thought when we were on vacation, we were supposed to enjoy each other and so far, this morning, I haven’t had much fun at all.”

“Well, neither have I.”

The server came over and filled Lorraine’s cup with coffee.

Philippe said, “I suggest you drink that coffee and get in a better mood. You are ruining mine right now. However does your assistant put up with you in the morning?”

“He knows enough to leave me alone until I have had my coffee.”

“You’re never this grumpy at home.”

“That’s because I don’t run around our neighborhood naked and embarrass myself.”

Philippe decided not to comment on that. They sat without speaking while Lorraine drank his coffee. Philippe was glad to see their mimosas arrive. He needed some alcohol. This morning was not going well at all.

Philippe took a drink of his mimosa. “This is really good although quite strong.”

The server was walking by and Lorraine waved for another refill. He drank that cup of coffee quickly then took a drink of his mimosa. “My god, that is strong! A few of these and we’ll be face down on the floor.”

“I could use you face down on me, right now.”

Lorraine chose to ignore him and took another long drink of the mimosa. He was so hungry and wanted the food to come. The coffee had settled his nerves and now the mimosa was working its “magic” as well. He was beginning to feel bad that he had been so very snippy to Philippe this morning.

By the time the food came, they had finished their mimosas, and both were feeling a bit tipsy, so they did the obvious thing. They ordered another mimosa. Lorraine was very happy to see the food and started eating right away. Philippe stabbed a couple of sliced strawberries off his waffle and ate them. Then he poured some of the strawberry syrup on the waffle and took a bite of waffle with strawberry slices and syrup.

“This is an excellent waffle and the waiter is right, this syrup is very good. It isn’t so sweet that all you taste is the sugar.” He decided to try some of the sausage. “And this is excellent sausage. It tastes like sausage was meant to taste, not like that processed crap you get in the stores.”

“May I have a bite of your sausage? This bacon is farm-fresh, too. You can have some of it if you like.”

They exchanged tastes of sausage and bacon. Afterwards, Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe on the cheek. “I’m sorry for being so grumpy.”

“You’re forgiven. And I am sorry for being so crude.”

Their second mimosas arrived. By the time they had finished eating and drinking their mimosas, both were in a much better mood. Philippe put his hand on Lorraine’s knee tentatively.

Lorraine pushed Philippe’s hair aside, so he could whisper in his ear, “I am ready for some fondling, love.”

Philippe slid his hand up Lorraine’s leg to his bulge and gently probed. Lorraine whispered in his ear, “Let’s go back to the room and start this day over, love.”

Lorraine let the waiter know they were ready for the tab. He signed it and slid out of the booth then turned to help Philippe out. They walked with their arms around each other’s waists through the foyer, kissing now and then. They unexpectedly came face to face with the woman from across the hall and her son.

Lorraine said, “So we meet again, Madame Latour. At least I am now dressed. I apologize for this morning. My name is Philippe Lorraine, and this is my husband, Philippe Orleans. Philippe, this is the young woman from across the hall that I told you about.”

The woman frowned, “How do you know my name?”

“I asked the concierge. I wanted to apologize to you. Really, I don’t make a habit of running around hotels without any clothes.”

“I should hope not.”

“Well, good day, then. My husband and I are returning to our rooms for a little morning sex. I hope your day is pleasurable, too.” Lorraine quickly guided Philippe around the woman and as soon as they were out of earshot, they started snickering to each other.

“I can’t believe you said that to that woman!” Philippe laughed.

“Well, I knew she judged me this morning when I mentioned husband, so I just wanted to make her a little more uncomfortable and maybe put an image in her head she wouldn’t like.”

Philippe kissed Lorraine’s cheek, “Love, you are so very naughty!”

“You haven’t seen naughty, yet.” Lorraine kissed Philippe back. This time it was more than a soft kiss. It was a kiss meant to set Philippe on fire and it did its work.

“We’d better get to our room quickly, while I can still walk,” Philippe answered huskily.

Lorraine’s hand gently groped Philippe’s crotch, “Oh yes, I see I am having the desired effect on you.”

They increased the speed of their walking and were soon safely inside their room. Once inside, they were in an embrace, kissing each other hungrily while their bodies pressed together, their hands hastily removing clothing.

As Philippe pulled down Lorraine’s pants, he went to his knees. He used his hands and mouth to bring Lorraine to full arousal.

“Love, do you want me to continue?” Philippe asked.

“Yes, then I want you to fuck me.”

Philippe’s mouth was on Lorraine almost before Lorraine had finished his sentence. Lorraine moaned and put his hands upon Philippe’s shoulders. “Yes, love, yes.”

Philippe continued sucking and stroking as Lorraine felt the desire increase in him, the fire of it almost consuming him. Lorraine cried out, “Oh god! I’m almost there.”

Philippe continued until he felt the familiar spasm as Lorraine moaned loudly, “Oh god, yes! Yes!”

After a few moments, Lorraine pulled Philippe up to him and kissed him, slipping his tongue into Philippe’s mouth. Philippe met it with his tongue, and they kissed hungrily. Lorraine pushed Philippe towards the bedroom and the unmade bed. They both climbed onto the bed, still kissing. Lorraine pushed Philippe down onto the bed, then ran his hands down Philippe’s body to his hardening cock. Lorraine worked his magic feeling Philippe’s quickening response.

Lorraine asked, “Are you ready love?”

Philippe’s answer was to pull Lorraine’s face up to his for a long kiss as his hands fondled and groped Lorraine’s buttocks. The night before, when they had unpacked their toiletries, Philippe had put their favorite lube on one of the tables by their bed. After the kiss, he rolled them over so Lorraine was now on the bottom. He ran his hands over Lorraine, enjoying the feel of his naked skin, the touch lighting a fire inside him. He leaned in to kiss Lorraine as Lorraine ran his hands over Philippe’s back. Philippe covered Lorraine’s neck with soft kisses, moving down to his chest, teasing and biting each nipple. His hands slid down Lorraine’s body, fingertips exploring, trailing across Lorraine’s belly then moved to Lorraine’s hips, sliding under him to lift him slightly, so he could cup Lorraine’s buttocks. His hands ran down the underside of Lorraine’s thighs to his knees, back up the inside of Lorraine’s thighs and back down to his knees.

He pushed Lorraine’s knees up and kissed his way up and down the inside of his thighs. He repeated this several times forcing Lorraine to say, “I appreciate all the foreplay, love, but could you speed it up a bit? I want you inside me. Now!”

“Patience, love.” Philippe reached for the lube and put a little on his hand to begin preparing Lorraine. Lorraine moaned in anticipation.

Lorraine pleaded, “Please stop teasing me!” Philippe looked down at Lorraine and leaned in to kiss him softly.

Philippe then pushed Lorraine’s legs back towards his chest. He grabbed a pillow and put it under Lorraine’s hips. Lorraine let out a long sigh and moan as Philippe finally entered him.

Lorraine answered with a breathless “Oh god, yes.”

Philippe leaned in pushing Lorraine’s legs even closer to his chest and kissed Lorraine, lips on lips, tongue pushing against tongue, their bodies catching fire. Lorraine moaned softly as Philippe began his movements. This was what he had wanted, had longed for—he gave himself up to Philippe as the movements came faster. This was true bliss, feeling one with Philippe, every cell alive and tingling, each touch, each kiss, each movement moving them closer to that ultimate peak. Lorraine grunting  in pleasure as Philippe drove himself into Lorraine.

Lorraine softly urged Philippe on, feeling Philippe’s desire growing, becoming urgent. Lorraine looked into Philippe’s eyes now dark blue with desire. Their eyes locked as their bodies moved as one. Then  Lorraine saw Philippe close his eyes, felt the tensing of his body, then the shudder—a combination of grunt, whine and moan escaping his partially open mouth followed by a deep groan of “Oh god, love, oh god.”

Lorraine took in those last urgent thrusts, cherished those moments when Philippe was totally lost inside him, then felt the slow relaxation of Philippe’s body as the energy drained from him.

Philippe again opened his eyes and looked down at Lorraine adoringly, lovingly, his lips curling into that uniquely Philippe smile. Philippe lowered Lorraine’s legs and rolled off him with a long, satisfied sigh. Laying side by side, they enjoyed the moment. _Now_ they were ready to start their first full day in Nice.

 


	68. A Little Hot Couture is Always Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe start their sightseeing with the Villa Massena, a neo-classical mansion that is a prime example of the neo-classical style. The family home of Napoleon's General Andre Massena, the home features a grand gallery, furnishings in the 1st Empire style, an art gallery, portraits of Napoleon and Josephine, and a collection of jazz posters and items. Nice was the site of the first ever Jazz Festival. Lorraine tells Philippe he has a surprise for him but he has to wait until the afternoon. Philippe loves his surprise.

An exhausted Philippe asked, “Do you want to take a shower before we head out?”

Lorraine’s answer was, “Ugh. Right now, I don’t know if I can move. Give me a few minutes.”

“Good, because I can’t move either. Maybe we should just stay in, drink wine, and have more sex.”

“No! We should get out and see Nice. There is a place I want to visit this afternoon.”

“And where might that be?”

“Can’t tell you, it is a surprise. We need to be there at 2pm.”

“We still have plenty of time, but now you have me curious. What can it be?”

“As I said, it is a surprise for you. That is all I am going to say.”

“Is it a special museum?”

“You will have to see. I’m not saying anything else about it.”

Philippe turned on his side facing Lorraine and ran his fingertips slowly across his chest, “Please, tell me.” When there was no response from Lorraine, he ran his fingertips up his neck to his cheek and then moved in for a soft kiss. “Tell me now and I’ll be so surprised.”

“Nope. You are going to have to wait. Are we still going to walk over to the Villa Massena Museum?”

“Walk?”

“Yes, it will do us good to take a short walk. It’s just next door through a beautiful garden. The concierge said he would give us a pamphlet that explains all the things to see and do in Nice. He said Villa Massena is an example of how the rich lived during the Belle Epoch. There’s an art gallery downstairs and a jazz museum upstairs.”

“Jazz museum? That sounds incongruous to have a jazz museum in a historical house!”

“No, he said that Nice was the first ever to have a jazz festival. Many of the greats, like Louis Armstrong used to come to Nice to hang out and play.”

“Just seems weird that American jazz would flourish so early here in France.”

“Well, I am going to get up and take a quick shower,” Lorraine stated.

“Why shower if we are just going to walk around and get sweaty?”

“Because, I, for one, smell like sex and I would rather not offend people’s noses with my smell.”

“They are called pheromones, my love, and I love the way you smell right now.”

“I am sure you do. Now, are you going to shower with me—and that is just an invitation for a good back scrubbing and nothing else.”

“You are such a spoil-sport. Yes, I’ll take a shower with you.”

A little later, after a good scrubbing, they were dressed and at the concierge’s desk. Lorraine now knew the concierge by name.

“Johnny! We are ready to go to the Villa Massena as you suggested. Do you have that pamphlet on the sites of interest in Nice?”

“Yes, Mr. Lorraine, I’ve got one right here for you.” Johnny reached under the counter and pulled up a rather large magazine-looking “pamphlet.”

“Wow. This looks to be very comprehensive! Thank you, Johnny.”

“Enjoy your visit to Villa Massena. It is a beautiful day for a walk through its gardens, too.”

With that, Lorraine and Philippe left, arm in arm. It was, indeed, a beautiful day in Nice. The sky was clear, and the temperature was in that wonderful area—not too hot and not too cool. The two found their way to the meticulously groomed gardens of Villa Massena filled with several varieties of palm trees and countless bushes and flowers that flourished in the special “Alpes-Maritime” climate of Nice.

The house, itself was designed in the neo-classical style (with strong Italian influences) by Hans-Georg Tersling, a Danish architect who was renowned for his work for the Empress Eugenie and the Rothschilds. At the heart of the Massena family was Andre Massena who worked his way up in the military to become one of Napoleon’s most trusted generals, earning him the titles of duc d’Rivoli and Prince d’Essling. Napoleon’s nickname for him was “l’Enfant chéri de la Victoire” [“the Dear Child of Victory”] because of his ability to turn impending defeat into victory. Philippe had read about him and was interested in seeing the “family home” of such an illustrious general.

They entered through the grand gallery and were immediately taken by its opulence. The gallery was lined by red marble columns marking arched doorways to smaller salons, marble statues on marble pedestals, and tall gold candelabras. Greek-style friezes like those on Greek temples ran along the top of the walls. The smaller salons contained numerous landscape paintings by famous artists of the era as well as furnishings in the opulent 1st Empire style and more statues.

They were impressed by the very large portraits of Napoleon and Josephine in one of the downstairs salons. Among the items they viewed in these salons were the actual death mask of Napoleon and Josephine's mother-of-pearl tiara, gold, pearls and colored stones donated by Murat to the Empress.

Upstairs, there was a special exhibition, “Jazzin’ Nice, 70 years of the Love of Jazz.” Both Philippe and Lorraine looked at the many historical posters advertising performances in Nice by greats such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie, while the music of these greats enchanted their ears.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JScWg4yaH9E> _Video of the Villa Massena and the art gallery inside. The first set of portraits shown were those of Napoleon and Josephine._

Lorraine whispered in Philippe’s ear, “Isn’t it amazing that the French were the first to embrace these icons of American music? Just goes to show that we French know a good thing when we see it.” Lorraine bit Philippe’s ear lobe, “And I’ve got my own personal good thing in you.”

Philippe whispered back, “Let’s go back to our room and I’ll show you what good thing I can put in you.”

Lorraine whispered, “Then you won’t get the surprise I have for you this afternoon.”

Philippe’s answer was, “Can’t we go get the surprise now?’ Lorraine shook his head no, and kissed Philippe softly on the cheek. Philippe just groaned in frustration.

After they had seen everything there was to see at Villa Massena, they crossed the Promenade d’Anglais—both the street and its famous marble paved walkway named after the English aristocracy who vacationed in the warm climate here. After crossing the street, then the walkway, Lorraine and Philippe went down some steps to the Blue Beach Restaurant located on the beach for some lunch. They were seated outside with a fantastic view of the ocean. The waiter gave them the menu which also had the wine list. Philippe was glad to see they offered Vin de Bellet—local Nice wines—and ordered a white from the Chateau de Cremat that he hoped they would get to visit in the next day or two. Philippe decided to get the _Moules marinières_ (mussels cooked with white wine and shallots) with a side of _frites_ (potatoes.) Lorraine decided on La Royale Blue Beach (prawns, red mullets and lobster) with a side of the _frites_ , too.

As they drank their wine waiting for their entrees, Philippe questioned Lorraine about the surprise, but Lorraine refused to give him any more information, so Philippe resorted to flirting. They had moved their chairs side by side, so they could both see the ocean. Philippe gently pushed Lorraine’s hair away from his face, kissed his cheek tenderly, then said, “Have I told you lately how handsome you are?”

“Yes, I think you told me this morning in the shower but thank you for saying it again. And I’d like to say that your eyes are the deepest blue today. Usually that happens when you are very aroused.”

“All I have to do is look at you and I get aroused, my love.” Philippe kissed Lorraine’s neck and put his hand on Lorraine’s knee. “We could return to our room after this meal and you could make my eyes very, very blue.”

“Would you rather do that than go to get your special surprise?”

“I don’t know. You won’t tell me what the surprise is. Is it better than having sex?”

“I don’t think anything is better than making love to you, but it is the next best thing. It could help put us in the mood.”

“Hmmm. Are we going to a sex toy shop?”

Lorraine smiled and said nothing. Philippe started moving his hand slowly up Lorraine’s thigh, but was interrupted by the arrival of the food. The waiter put a large pot in front of Philippe with another pot on top for a lid. Lorraine received a skillet full of prawns, mullet and lobster cooked in a sauce of wine, tomatoes, onions and garlic. The waiter put down a basket full of crusty, freshly made bread and their sides of _frites_.

Philippe removed the “lid” from his pot and the succulent smell of wine, onions and mussels poured out in the steam that was released. He then carefully used his fingers to pick up an opened mussel shell from the pot and took the meat out with his fingers.

“Philippe! Don’t use your fingers! That is not polite!”

“My dear Lorraine, this is how you are supposed to eat these. Ask the waiter if you don’t believe me! Or you can eat it like this.” Philippe then took the next mussel and tore off the top shell, then used the empty mussel shell which still had the top and bottom shell joined and used it like a pincer to pry the meat out of the other shell. “But I prefer to use my fingers.”

“I guess I have not had mussels out in public just because I thought they would be too hard to eat. I should have guessed you would like them. They play to your caveman instinct.” Lorraine shook his head as he watched Philippe pull the meat from the shell with his fingers. Philippe discarded the shells in the “lid” of the pot. When the mussels had thinned out in the pot, Philippe began tearing the top shell off and used the bottom shell with mussel meat still intact to scoop the juices from the pot which he then brought to his lip and slurped—much like you do an oyster, only the oysters in a good restaurant had already been cut from the shell, whereas the mussel’s meat had not and it took a little tug with the teeth to dislodge it. Philippe also used torn pieces of bread to soak up the juices.

When Lorraine reached to pick out a _frite_ with his fingers, Philippe said, “See, there are foods we are allowed to eat with our fingers— _frites_ and mussels.”

“Yes, but _frites_ aren’t all sloppy with juice.”

Philippe tore the meat from a shell and reached over to feed it to Lorraine. “Here try this!”

Lorraine opened his mouth and took the morsel. It was surprisingly good. Next, Philippe scooped up some juices in a half-shell and fed that to Lorraine. Lorraine didn’t quite have the trick down to slurp the juice from the shell as Philippe tipped it and the juice ran down his chin. Before Lorraine could grab his napkin to wipe the juice away, Philippe had leaned over and sucked it off, moving up the chin to Lorraine’s lips for a kiss.

“You’ll get the next one right, love,” Philippe told Lorraine. “And if you don’t, I’ll clean-up the juice for you!”

Lorraine fed Philippe a prawn stabbing it with a fork to give to him. “I suppose you will tell me I should have picked this shrimp up with my hands.”

“Not necessarily. It had been de-shelled so using your fork was reasonable. If the shell was still on, then using your fork would just be awkward.”

“I didn’t realize you were so knowledgeable in using your fingers to eat!”

“Love, there are many things about me you haven’t learned, yet.”

About half-way through eating they were almost out of wine. Philippe ordered another bottle without consulting Lorraine who said, “I don’t know that we have time for another bottle of wine! You don’t want to be drunk when you get your surprise, do you?”

“I can’t say since I have no idea what it is. Don’t worry, we’ll finish this bottle in plenty of time. How far is this place we need to go to for my surprise?”

“Not too far. I’ll have our car pick us up from the parking lot here to save us from walking back to the hotel.”

“Good, because when we finish this second bottle of wine, we won’t feel much like walking!”

True enough, by the time they had finished eating, they were both tipsy. Philippe tried to take the opportunity to trick Lorraine into giving him a hint about his surprise, but Lorraine didn’t fall for it. They walked out to the car arm around each other’s waist, more to keep each other from tripping than for coziness. They slid into the back seat of the car and Philippe took the opportunity to kiss Lorraine pushing him down on the seat and grinding against his body.

“Philippe let’s save the very heavy foreplay for later. There isn’t going to be time for much more than a kiss or two.” He pushed Philippe back and sat up. “Let’s see a little of Nice for a change.”

“Sightseeing is over-rated!” Philippe protested.

The car pulled onto the Promenade d’Anglais turning right towards the heart of Nice. The Mediterranean was on their right, Nice to their left. After a few minutes, a park area appeared on their left. Lorraine said, “I believe that is the Garden of Albert I. The garden seemed to be as much public park as it was garden. As the garden/park ended they turned left onto the street that bordered that side of the garden. They noted that this street was one way going away from the Promenade d’Anglais. They drove to where the park ended, and again, turned left, went the depth of the park and turned right again going back towards the Promenade.

Philippe was saying, “It looks like we are going back to where we were—did the driver miss a turn?” when Lorraine took a silk scarf he had put in his pocket without Philippe’s notice and said, “Now close your eyes,” and proceeded to blindfold Philippe who protested.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes, love, I want this to be the biggest surprise.” Just as Lorraine got the scarf tied nice and tug, the car stopped and pulled into a parking space. “I am afraid we are going to have to do a little walking, now.”

“Walking?!! How much walking? Do you expect me to walk blindfolded and half drunk?”

“It was your idea to get that second bottle of wine.”

“You didn’t tell me there would be blindfolded walking involved.”

Lorraine kissed Philippe softly and said, “Calm down, love, you are really going to like this. When we get out of the car, please don’t embarrass me by making a loud scene. People are going to stare at us as it is with you being blindfolded.”

“Maybe I should just yell out, ‘Help! I’m being abducted against my will!’”

“Sure, go ahead, that is, if you want to just get back in the car and go back to the hotel without your surprise—and without any sex for the rest of the day and night.”

“Okay. I’ll be good.”

Lorraine climbed out of the car, then reached in and helped Philippe out.

“Hmm, busy area. Can hear lots of people and cars,” Philippe commented. “It is true! When you are blind your hearing works much better!”

“You haven’t been blind that long for your hearing to improve that dramatically. Now come this way. We’ll go where there is no curb. You can take normal steps, there is nothing in the way.”

They went a few feet then Lorraine turned Philippe to his right. Another few steps, and Lorraine said, “Careful. We are going to walk along by the building here. It’s not too much further, I think.

“Do I hear a dog?”

“Yes, people are walking dogs and pushing babies in strollers.”

“I don’t hear cars.”

“Cars aren’t allowed down this street. That is why we are required to walk. Just a few feet more, love.”

Lorraine guided Philippe a few more feet then turned him to face a building. “Are you ready, love?”

“Yes, I’ve been ready for quite a while now. Take the damned thing off.”

Lorraine went behind Philippe and untied the scarf and removed it. Philippe blinked then Lorraine heard his sharp intake of breath. “Oh my god! We are at Chanel, Nice!” Philippe looked up and down the street and realized there were many shops along this street but the one he had eyes for was the Chanel.

“So, is there more to this surprise than just coming to gawk at the Chanel store?” Philippe asked expectantly.

“Why don’t we go in and find out, love. I just might have made a few calls before we left.” The look of excitement on Philippe’s face was priceless and gave Lorraine so much joy.

Philippe was studying the clothes in the windows. “This doesn’t appear to have men’s clothing.”

“No, it doesn’t love. Let’s go in.”

They stepped up and into the vestibule, then a man in a suit opened the glass doors for them. Lorraine told the man, “Philippe Lorraine and Philippe Orleans here to see Pierre. I believe we are a few minutes early.”

“Yes, he is expecting you, but is still with another customer. Please come this way.” The man led them to a well-appointed but small waiting room. “Would you like some champagne or other beverage while you wait? We have macarons, too, if you would like.”

Philippe spoke up before Lorraine could answer, “Champagne would be nice, thank you.”

When the man left the room, Lorraine said, “We don’t need anything more to drink.”

“But I want to be able to say I drank champagne at Chanel in Nice.”

“Okay, just one more glass. I want you to be able to make a good decision and not regret it later.”

“Decision? What decision.”

“Just wait and see!”

Philippe gulped his champagne down and waited nervously.

A few minutes later, Pierre came into the room. To Philippe’s surprise Lorraine stood up so he and Pierre could hug. Philippe noticed that Pierre’s hands were just a little too low on Lorraine’s hips and lingered just a little too long for Philippe’s comfort. They also did the two-cheek kiss. Lorraine turned to introduce Philippe, “And this is my husband, Philippe Orleans. Philippe, this is Pierre Robes. We are old friends.”

Philippe smiled his “court smile” and shook Pierre’s hand. He really didn’t like the guy, but he didn’t want to ruin Lorraine’s surprise for him. He was already getting an inkling what it was and was very excited.

“Lorrie, how do you want to proceed?” asked Pierre.

Philippe had to fight hard to keep from laughing at Pierre’s nickname for Lorraine.

“Are they on models already?” Lorraine asked.

“Yes.”

“Then send both models in at the same time.”

Pierre snapped his fingers and two lovely female models came in wearing two different evening gowns. Lorraine smiled and asked Philippe, “Which of these two Chanel gowns do you like best,  love?”

Philippe’s smile spread from ear to ear as he walked around the models, inspecting the dresses.

“This pink one looks so Chanel! But I do like the floral pattern and the lace overlay in this one. I just don’t know!”

Lorraine said, “Why don’t you try them on and see which one looks best on you?”

Pierre said, “Yes, we have a dressing room right this way. I received your sizing information and we have gowns in Mr. Orleans size. Which would you like to try on first?”

Philippe and Lorraine were following Pierre as Philippe answered, “The pink one, please!”

Pierre stopped at a door and opened it. “Please go in here and I will have the dress brought to you.”

Philippe asked, “Lorraine, will you come in with me to help me get the dress on?” He had no intention of leaving Lorraine and Pierre alone.

When Pierre closed the door, leaving Philippe and Lorraine alone, Philippe said, “You fucked him, didn’t you?!”

Lorraine did his best to look indignant, “If you must know we were lovers for a while, so, yes, as you so crudely put it, I fucked him.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Before I met you.”

“How long before we met?”

“Really, Philippe, do you always have to be so jealous?”

“Well, I didn’t like the way he put his hands on your ass. And what is this Lorrie business?”

“It’s a god-awful nickname he had for me.”

At that time Pierre came in with the two dresses on hangers and hung them up in the dressing room. “I will leave you alone, now. There are four-way mirrors out here that you can use to get a good look at how the dress fits you when you get one on.” Pierre politely withdrew, leaving them alone.

“Here, try this pink one on first. The color is going to look great with your dark hair.”

“But my complexion is sort of pale so it might wash me out more,” answered Philippe as he took off his shirt and pants.”

“That’s why you have to try on both dresses.” Lorraine helped him get into the dress and zipped it up. “Oh love, this looks wonderful on you! It is a dark enough shade of pink that it doesn’t wash out your complexion—it enhances it! And with your dark hair, it is absolutely beautiful! It looks so Chanel, too! Let’s go out to the four-way mirror so you can see how good it looks.”

Philippe stopped and looked nervously at Lorraine, “Do I embarrass you in front of your old lover?”

“Embarrass me? Why would I be embarrassed? You look amazing and I am going to be so proud to have you on my arm. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Get out there and strut your stuff. You’ve got it to strut! I am proud of you, love!” Lorraine put his arms around Philippe, hugged him and kissed his neck.

Philippe and Lorraine left the dressing room to go to the mirrors. Pierre came over and said, “That looks stunning on you! Lorraine is going to be the envy of every guy in the room and all the women are going to be insanely jealous of you.”

Philippe looked at himself and said, “The shape of this dress seems to suit me.” The top of the dress was off the shoulder with the neckline straight across from the top of one should to the next in a four-inch band that formed the illusion of a sleeve. The top and bottom of the band was trimmed in gold trim. The rest of the top was form fitting and consisted of three more bands of gold trim fabric ending at the waist. The right side had just a slight gathering from the waist down the side seam/hip that helped to emphasize the waist and slim the hips. The skirt of the dress dropped straight down with just a bit of flair at the bottom.

Philippe looked at himself in the full-length mirrors running his hands down the side of the dress. “This ruching on the one side emphasizes my hips nicely, while the horizontal trim of the top helps gives me a nice, broad-shouldered shape making my waist look smaller. I will have to take smaller steps because the bottom of the skirt isn’t very wide. But I should do that anyway.” Philippe kept looking at the dress from every possible angle. “Okay, I want to see what the other dress looks like. I do like this one, though.”

They went back into the dressing room and Lorraine helped Philippe out of the pink dress and hung it up while Philippe got the other dress off the hanger. When Philippe got it on, he looked in the mirror and said, “I love the floral pattern paired with the lace overlay and the lace on the arms. But I don’t think the shape does as much for my figure as the other one. I think it makes me look a little thick-waisted, don’t you think?”

“Why don’t we go out to the mirrors, so you can see it from all angles.”

Philippe went out and studied the dress from all angles. He finally said, “It doesn’t flatter my figure as well and it doesn’t look as Chanel. What good is it to own a real Chanel if it doesn’t _look_ like a real Chanel? The only thing I like better about this dress is the low-cut v in the back. But then I would have to shave my back and that is a pain and uncomfortable when it starts to grow out. I think I want the pink dress.”

“Okay, let’s look for shoes to go with the pink dress, then.”

They looked at all the shoes—Philippe insisted on flats. Heels just were too awkward for him. Heels also emphasized the fact that Philippe was taller than Lorraine. Pierre showed them to the shoes, and they wound up pulling four different styles of shoes.

Philippe said, “The second pair of pink with black toe seems like the obvious choice, but I don’t know that they are dressy enough. That first pair is too busy with all that embossing on the leather and I think would detract from the simple lines of the dress. Now the third pair almost matches the pink but there is too much gold in the shoes. I think when you hold it up to the top of the dress the gold matches the trim, but since they will be on my feet, they clash some with the pink of the bottom half of the dress. I think the style doesn’t go with the pink dress, either. I like the fourth pair with the laced leather. The dress doesn’t have lace on it, but they don’t have to be matchy-matchy. I sort of get a similar style vibe between the shoe as I do with the dress.”

Lorraine agreed with Philippe about the fourth pair being the best. Philippe said, “I really don’t need new shoes. I am sure I have several pair of black shoes that will work well.”

“But you do need a pair of Chanel shoes to go with your Chanel dress! I insist!”

Philippe kissed Lorraine and whispered in his ear, “Thank you, love. You are going to be well rewarded tonight!”

“Good, because I have made us reservations at Le Chantecler Restaurant at the hotel for 8:30 tonight. I figured you would want to wear the dress as soon as possible. We can wine and dine then make a quick trip to our room where I look forward to taking that dress off you.”

“Sounds great! I can’t wait. Oh, and I want to get some Chanel makeup, too. The makeup I have is getting old and needs to be replaced. Why not do some of it in Chanel style?”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Oh, this Healthy Glow Eyeshadow Palette in Light is exactly what I need for my new dress! And I want this Sheer Healthy Glow Moisturizing Tint in Light. I don’t like anything very heavy. I think that should do it for today. I’ll get whatever else I need at my favorite place in Paris.”

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else you need?”

“Yes, love, I am quite happy. And your old boyfriend is going to make quite the commission today, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is. But I am the one who will benefit most when I am walking around with you on my arm. Are we ready to check out, now? I need a new briefcase and there is a Louis Vuitton on the corner—it is one reason I blindfolded you, I didn’t want you to see it and realize we were in a high-class shopping district.”

“Yes, do you think they might have some good boots? I need some new boots desperately.”

“We can check. If not, I am sure there are some other stores that carry shoes around here.”

They brought everything to Pierre, so he could ring it up. Philippe’s Chanel dress was wrapped carefully in tissue and boxed so it wouldn’t get wrinkled. When all was said and done, Pierre did make quite a good commission.

Philippe left Chanel very happy. They looked in several of the clothing stores along the street and the clothing was boring as were the shoes. Lorraine told Philippe when he stopped to look in the men’s clothing section, “You know, love, I can design things that are way more interesting than that.”

“Yes, I know. We came in to look at the shoes, and I wind up looking at this boring stuff. Sorry.”

They made it down the block to Louis Vuitton and Lorraine picked out a very nice (and expensive) briefcase. They looked at the men’s shoes and boots, but there was nothing there that met Philippe’s needs. He explained that he wanted new boots to wear for the tour, but the boots at Vuitton’s were not at all the style Philippe had in mind.

They went down the street from Vuitton’s to Zadig & Voltaire. Philippe and Lorraine looked at the men’s boots and Philippe found a pair of boots that were “passable” and a pair of sneakers he liked and decided to buy. As they were walking through the store, the women’s shoe section caught his eye and he walked over with Lorraine close behind.

“Look! Now, these boots are more like what I had in mind! This just doesn’t make sense! Why would the women’s boots look more rugged and rock-n-roll than the men’s boots? These aren’t even feminine styles—well, maybe the red stacked heel boots are, but if they didn’t have that spiky high heel, they’d make a perfect rock star boot! Why do these designers think men are so boring? It’s insane!”

Lorraine put his arm around Philippe and kissed his neck, “Not all male designers are so boring.”

“Of course, I was not referring to you. It goes without saying that I know _you_ aren’t boring!”

“Maybe you should consider one of these female boots. No one would know the difference.”

“That’s an idea, but, while these are closer to what I want, they aren’t quite there, yet.”

“When we get back to Paris, I promise that I will look into the matter and find you a designer of male boots that you will like, even if I have to design them myself! Now that I think about it, that is an interesting idea. Me designing men’s boots. And shoes. To go along with my men’s fashions! You are a genius, love!”

“Then I expect fifty percent of the profits!”

“Now that we are married that already belongs to you! We make a good team, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do! Now what?” Philippe asked.

“I looked at the pamphlet Johnny gave us, and in that direction, there are several interesting attractions. The Promenade du Paillon has a series of fountains that come up out of the sidewalk. In that direction, too, is the Place Massena and the Fontaine du Soleil.”

“Fontaine du Soleil? Any relation to a certain Sun King brother of mine?”

“No, I think the fountain has a statue of Apollo, the Greek Sun God. There’s an interesting story about the fountain I can tell you when we get there. Or, we can go in the opposite direction and visit Albert’s park.”

“It’s not that I mind walking—but we have all these bags. I’m afraid my gown is going to get shaken and tousled. Is there any way we can get our purchases back to the hotel?”

“Maybe we could call our car and they’d pick up the bags and take them back to the hotel.”

“Maybe they would take us down to that fountain place, too. Then we could walk back. Or better yet, why don’t we go back to the hotel and just wander around and look at all the art?”

“Philippe are you really having that bad of a time?”

“I have had a good time, so far. But I am tired and really don’t feel like walking and being part of the gawking tourist crowd.”

“Okay, I will call the car. They can come pick us up and bring us down to the Fontaine du Soleil and wait for us as we look around a bit. Then we can go back to the hotel and look at all the artwork there and just kickback until time for dinner tonight. Does that sound good to you?”

“Yes, it sounds excellent!”

“Why don’t we get something cold to drink in this Scotch Tea House while we wait for the car?”

“Do you think they will have anything besides tea?”

“We can go in and find out. They don’t look too busy this time of the day.”

“It’s almost tea time, isn’t it?”

“I think tea time is English.”

“Oh, I guess we can forget tea and crumpets, then. Wonder if they serve haggis with their tea.” Lorraine winced at Philippe’s attempt at a joke.

They walked inside the Scotch Tea House to find a richly decorated interior with rich walnut paneling and 18th century furnishings upholstered in a rich rosy red. Another, more interior room, had ornately carved and gold -plated panels topped with velvet covered upper walls. An ornate fireplace added more opulence to the room.

“Wow, this is one fancy tea house!” Lorraine replied. They explained to the waitress that they were waiting on a car and asked if they could be seated in the outside area. She smiled and led them to a table in the outside area, where quite a few people sat sipping tea and various other drinks.

They looked at the menu and were surprised to see that they offered wine by the glass, featuring local Vin de Bellet from Chateau du Cremat. They ordered a glass of wine and a strawberry tarte each. Philippe had seen another customer eating one and decided he was a little hungry. He was always hungry for strawberries.

Lorraine made the call for the car and was told the car would be there in fifteen minutes. The woman who owned and ran the tea house with her husband came by to say hello. She saw the bags from Chanel and made a comment about how Philippe was such a thoughtful young man getting his special girl so many things from Chanel. Philippe and Lorraine just smiled at her, with Lorraine running his foot up Philippe’s leg playfully under the table.

“Stop that! You will ruin that nice woman’s respectful opinion of me!” Philippe jested.

Lorraine leaned over and whispered to Philippe, “Just imagine her shock if she knew just what a degenerate scoundrel you are! But you are my degenerate scoundrel!”

Philippe answered softly, “And I can’t wait until tonight to show you just how degenerate I am!”


	69. A Trip Through Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philippe and Lorraine visit the Fontaine du Soleil where Lorraine tells the sad story of how the statue of Apollo lost most of his manhood. They return to the hotel to take in the art work there and visit some of the salon/lounges styled after several King Louis's. Philippe gets to wear his Chanel gown for their evening outing and afterwards Lorraine gets to remove the dress. The evening ends with both being very satisfied.

It wasn’t much longer before their car arrived. Lorraine asked the driver to take them down to Fontaine du Soleil. On the way there, they could see the Promenade de Paillon on their left. They observed children and many adults playing in the always changing eruptions of water from the spouts buried in the sidewalk. Philippe made a comment about how glad he was that they had not walked because the last thing he wanted was for his Chanel evening gown to get wet before his chance to wear it that evening.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXI2jQliO7A> _Fontaine du Soleil —Place Massena_

Place Massena, the square that featured the Fontaine du Soleil, was not that much farther down the street. The car found a place to park, where they could walk up to the famous fountain. It featured a tall marble statue of the Greco-Roman god Apollo, with five smaller bronze statues in the water around Apollo representing the Roman gods Mercury, Mars, and Saturn, and the goddesses Venus and Earth.

As Philippe and Lorraine walked around the fountain, Philippe commented, “Apollo is one very nicely built god, but I would expect a Roman god to be better endowed than that!”

The comment made Lorraine laugh. Philippe looked at him and said, “What is so funny about that. Just look how small his cock is! He has this magnificent body, and what a nice-looking ass, but that cock is just too ridiculously small. It isn’t even as big as his thumb! That is total shrinkage!”

Lorraine finally was able to say, “That is the story I was going to tell you! How Apollo got such a small cock! Okay, first off Apollo is the one responsible for carrying the sun across the sky every day and he does this in his chariot pulled by four horses. Notice the four horses on his head.”

“On his head? What are they doing on his head? Shouldn’t they be pulling him in his chariot?”

“That is exactly what the people of Nice asked when the statue was unveiled. I’m not sure why the sculptor put them on his head—maybe they did not give him enough money or materials for him to make a statue with four horses and a chariot as well as the other god statues. So, he symbolically put them on his head. This was in the 1950’s at the time the French car manufacturer released the Renault 4CV, nicknamed the ‘four horsepower.’ The people laughed and called the statue an ad for that auto and poor Apollo got the nickname ‘the four-horsepower statue.’”

“How rude! Some people can’t respect beauty when they see it. Well, except that one part that is so sadly done.”

“His cock wasn’t so small when the statue was originally unveiled. It was quite a bit larger—so large, in fact, that conservatives in Nice demanded the sculptor take hammer and chisel and reduce the size of his privates, despite protests by some older women who thought it wasn’t big enough and students who liked to decorate it as a prank.”

“Owww! I don’t even like to think of something like that,” Philippe grimaced.

“After the sculptor did his work chiseling away poor Apollo’s manhood, the statue got the nickname of ‘The Virgin.’ But even then, the Catholic women’s ‘League of Feminine Virtue’ still objected to all the statues because they were nude. They were dismantled. The bronzes were stored at the water treatment plant and Apollo was moved to guard the mayor’s office for a while, then eventually moved to a sports stadium where the clientele would be less offended by the nude Apollo.”

“The men entering the stadium probably thought it was cool that they were better endowed than a Roman god,” Philippe laughed.

“Eventually, a reporter saw the bronzes at the water treatment plant and did a story on them and Apollo. That raised public interest and the fountain with the bronzes were restored to the square. It took four more years before it was decided to restore Apollo to his place at the center of the fountain.”

“What a sad fate for such a beautiful Greek god! I didn’t realize the French could be that uptight,” Philippe lamented.

“Mignonette, when these statues were created in the 1950’s, the world was a very different, very conservative place than it is now. Thank god, we weren’t reincarnated into that era! It would have been worse than being in Versailles. Of course, at Versailles, if I had not been with you, the King’s brother, it would not have been a very comfortable place for me, either. I probably would have lost my head.” Lorraine put his arm around Philippe’s waist and kissed his cheek. “I am so lucky to have you, love. Shall we walk around and view the bronzes?”

Lorraine looked at the pamphlet and said, “This one is Mercury, the messenger to the gods, riding Pegasus the winged horse god.”

Philippe answered, “He is one strange equestrian. I’ve seen bareback and I’ve seen side-saddle, but never anything quite like this. That is one hell of a side-saddle pose.”

Lorraine laughed and said, “I wonder what will happen when Pegasus flaps his wings!”

“I am afraid we will see Mercury flying off Pegasus in that case.”

“I seem to recall Mercury having winged sandals or something like that. It is how he flew I believe. But he is barefoot here. Guess he thought since he was riding Pegasus, he didn’t need his winged shoes.”

“He has a winged hat. Maybe he can fly with that. Looks like our sculptor took a lot of artistic liberties when creating these statues,” Philippe stated.

“This next one is the Statue of Mars. It says he is the god of war.”

“He also is very decently endowed and detailed. For some reason this one reminds me of Fabien. I guess it is the horse. Could also be because Fabien could be considered very war-like.” Philippe remarked.

Lorraine answered, “I don’t really think of Fabien this way at all. He is too ‘by the book’ to be nude. Do I need to worry about you and Fabien?”

Philippe laughed and said, “No, Fabien is absolutely straight. He has Claudine. We’re just friends. Besides, these are works of art, not porn images. Get your head out of the gutter.”

“You are the one talking about cock size and all!”

“From an aesthetic point of view. You know, the human body has certain proportions that should be kept by sculptors and artists. These are pieces of art. I am commenting on how realistic they are and how they meet artistic standards and proportions.”

“If you say so.” Lorraine replied and shrugged.

“Not really sure how this relates to war since the guy is not wearing a uniform. Believe me, the last thing you want is to be on the battlefield naked! He doesn’t even have a weapon unless you consider his hands weapons. He’d better have pretty good god-powers!” Philippe admonished.

At Saturn, Philippe said, “This one’s got a fairly large cock. Wonder why they didn’t insist it get whittled down, too?”

Lorraine added, “That’s a pretty detailed genital area. Pretty risqué for the 1950’s I’d say! It says here he is the god of agriculture, liberation, and time.”

“So why the bull?” Philippe asked.

Lorraine answered, “It doesn’t say. Maybe it is some reference to the earth or agriculture? This next one is the Statue of Earth.”

“Okay, this one is strange. Is she throwing the baby?” Philippe asked.

“I have no idea. She seems to be floating or is she falling? Maybe the bull bucked her and the baby off.”

A young woman behind them said, “This represents Gaia, the mother of most of the Greek Gods and the mother of all life. She was the earth and gave birth to the heavens above and to the sea below her. That is why she seems to be floating, to represent that she is between the sea—the waters of the fountain—and the heavens above her. The baby represents the many children and gods she bore. Also, Taurus, the bull, is the symbol of our physical bodies that are tied to the earth—Gaia.”

Lorraine said, “Thank you very much for the explanation. Now it makes some sense!”

“Look, here is the goddess of love, Venus. It says here she was considered the mother of all Romans because her son, Aenaes, fled the fall of Troy and founded the Nation of Italy.” Lorraine read.

“Is that her hair or is that a snake?”

“I think it is her hair.”

“It’s sort of funny the way her clothes just seem to be slipping off her. Bet that didn’t sit well with that women’s league! And that is one ugly fish she is sitting or riding on! But those are cute porpoises.”

_Note: These God/Goddesses were all originally Greek Gods that the Romans “borrowed” and gave Roman names. Technically, the names should be Saturn=Greek Cronos, Mars=Greek Ares, Mercury=Greek Hermes, Venus=Greek Aphrodite, Earth=Greek Gaia, Apollo is the same in both. The French sculptor Alfred Janniot used the Roman names_ _._

They walked back to the car and climbed in, telling the driver to take them back to the hotel. Philippe said, “Maybe I should find a sculptor to sculpt a statue of you nude for the garden. When you are at work, I can go out there to work and not feel so alone.”

“I don’t think that would work. You would stare at it and by noon you would be in my office wanting to have sex. Besides, only a narcissist would want a nude statue of themselves in their own garden. I may be somewhat vain, but I am not that vain. Just use your imagination.”

“But what about when we get old and saggy? Wouldn’t you like a statue of when you were in your prime?”

“How about we hire a photographer to take photos of us so, when we are older, we can reminisce,” Lorraine was only joking, but Philippe’s eyes lit up.

“Do you think we could find a photographer to do that for us?”

“Probably, but I don’t really want a bunch of nude photos of myself floating out there in the world. I can’t think of a photographer I trust to do that.” To get Philippe’s mind off the idea, Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe. It worked. The drive back to the hotel didn’t take that long and soon they were bringing their purchases into the hotel.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIBYmuuBYxU> _History and overview of Le Negresco (Note: since this video was done both Madame Augier and Carmen the cat have died, but Augier ensured in her will and financial arrangements that Le Negresco would never fall into the hands of the corporate hotel moguls and a part of the profits of the hotel would go to animal activism.)_

Johnny waved to them and they waved back. “Too bad Johnny isn’t working tonight so he could see me in my new Chanel gown,” Philippe lamented. They went to the room and Philippe carefully unboxed his new Chanel gown and hung it up on a peg outside the wardrobe. Lorraine could tell the gown made Philippe very happy and looked forward to him wearing it tonight.

After their items were put away, they went downstairs to walk around the foyer to view the paintings they had not taken the time to look at. When they went by Johnny’s desk, they stopped to talk to him.

The first thing out of Philippe’s mouth was, “Johnny, Lorraine took me to Chanel and bought me the most beautiful pink Chanel evening dress and shoes and makeup to go with it!”

Johnny’s answer was, “I am sure you are going to look stunning in it. I am so glad you liked Lorraine’s surprise.”

Philippe looked puzzled, “You knew about my surprise?”

Lorraine responded with, “Love, Johnny was the one who told me how to get to Chanel. I had to tell him why I was going there, so, yes, he knew.”

“Sorry, Philippe, I promised Lorraine not to tell you, so it would be a big surprise for you. What are you two doing now?”

“We’ve decided to check out some of the artwork in the building.”

“In that case, I suggest you go next door to the Versailles Lounge. They are preparing it for a party tonight. I will let them know to let you in to take a look.”

“Versailles Lounge?” asked Lorraine.

“Yes, I think you will find it interesting. But you need to go now, while it is open and before the party starts.”

Philippe remarked as they made their way to the room, “It could be from any period of French history after ours—I don’t think Johnny realizes who we are. It is probably a replica of Marie Antoinette’s Versailles. She made so many changes to it. Most people don’t realize that.”

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddVufveSaYs> _Another video of Le Negresco with nice views of Le Chanticler restaurant (pink/green), La Rotonde (carousel horses) and Le Bar as well as a quick look at the Versailles Salon set up with tables for a meeting.)_

They saw the staff going in and out of the room and went to the double doors to peek inside. And there he was, Louis XIV in all his glory. It was just a painting, but it took both Lorraine and Philippe by surprise. They had not expected to see that painting here. In the painting, Louis was more than life-size. One of the staff saw them and motioned for them to come on in.

They walked around the room taking in the mix of historically styled furniture juxtaposed with more modern pieces. As Philippe looked at the painting he whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I know the original Hyacinthe Rigaud painting of Louis XIV is in the Louvre. Do you think this is the copy Louie had done to send to Philip V of Spain, his grandson?”

Lorraine looked surprised, “Maybe it is. Can you imagine how vain a person would have to be to commission a portrait of himself to send to his grandson, then decide the painting was so wonderful he couldn’t part with it and so had a copy made to send to his grandson instead?”

“That’s our Louis for you. Vain to a fault. What I hated was when he had that damned portrait brought in to court to replace himself when he couldn’t be there. You had to treat that damned portrait like it was Louis himself! You had to bow to it, then walk backwards until you were out of its presence. If you turned your back on it, it was just as bad as turning your back on the king.” Philippe rolled his eyes. “Let’s move away. That thing is giving me the creeps!”

At the opposite end from Louis’s painting was a beautiful marble fireplace very much like the ones they had in their rooms at Versailles.

Philippe said very low in Lorraine’s ear, “Some of my favorite memories were when we sat in front of that fireplace in my rooms, with a roaring fire, drinking wine and just talking and relaxing.”

Lorraine responded with, “Those are mine, too. When we were in your rooms, we could be ourselves and enjoy each other without all the restraints of court, whether that was having passionate sex or just talking by the fire.”

“Still, Louis could come barreling in at any time, night or day, when he got some wild idea and he just had to talk to me.”

“And what about Bontemps? That man had the worst timing. He always seemed to interrupt us at the most inopportune times,” Lorraine complained.

“You do have to admit, though, most of the time we were in my rooms, we were in some sort of amorous activity whether it was simply sitting by the fire holding hands or something more profound,” Philippe answered. “We went to the room most times specifically to enjoy each other in some way.”

“Good ole Bontemps. I wonder if he has been reincarnated, and if he has, where he is now,” Lorraine pondered.

“Don’t worry, if he was reincarnated, I am sure he would find Louis. He was so dedicated to my brother. Sometimes I wondered if he was in love with him, but was so proper, he would never dare think to make it a sexual thing.”

“I think Bontemps was the most asexual man I have ever known. He had a wife and only that one son who died of the pox, but he never lived with his wife, especially after the son died. He was at Louis’s side all day, every day.”

“Let us stop thinking about Bontemps. This is leading down a very strange path I would just as soon not walk down. I think I am ready to go look at art elsewhere. I feel like that portrait of my brother is watching me and it is unnerving.”

They left the room and wandered around checking out the artwork that was so casually on display all over the hotel.

The next lounge they came to was the Louis XVI lounge decorated in a bright red and decorated with furnishings from his era including busts of him and Marie Antoinette.  Philippe didn’t have much love for this king and queen. He viewed Louis XVI to be a weak and indecisive king, not suitable to govern—one who alienated the aristocrats as well as the general populace despite his efforts to win their approval. Louis XVI was the last monarch to rule France and the only one to die on the guillotine. He also resented the fact that the vapid Marie Antoinette redecorated most of Versailles, throwing out a good amount of Louis’s original furnishings. Philippe allowed Lorraine a quick look around before he left the room forcing Lorraine to follow.

The next lounge they saw was the Massena Lounge, decorated in the Empire style, using red and gold. The carpet was bright red. White marble columns with ornate cornices flanked the perimeter of the room. Arched windows were topped with arched gold valances, central draperies in white, and red side curtains. The chairs were upholstered in red and the round tables had white linen tablecloths. Philippe sighed and said, “There’s just too much red.” Both Philippe and Lorraine knew that during the reign of Napoleon, there was a return to simpler, classical lines of the Greeks, referred to as Neoclassical (neo=new) and that the second phase of that style was the Empire style. They weren’t sure the gaudy red and gold was a true representation of that style. But then a lot of the early styles of art were mixed with newer art throughout the hotel so perhaps this was the neoclassical treated with a more modern color palette.

The last Lounge they came to was the Salon Regence on the ground floor that opened onto a beautiful patio looking out onto the Mediterranean. It was next to the restaurant Le Chantecler where they were going to dine later that evening and the smell of food wafting in made them very hungry. Philippe was familiar with this style since it was named for his son Philippe II who ruled as Regent during the minority of Louis XV. The Regence style was a break from the Baroque pomposity of the palace of Versailles to a more intimate style suited to the newly emerging _petite salon_ and was characterized by the use of curving and graceful lines, smaller, movable furniture, and motifs of foliage and bouquets, foreshadowing the glib and frivolous Rococco period.

Philippe said, “Why don’t we go to the room and order some cheese and fruit to tide us over until our dinner reservation? Maybe even a bottle of wine.”

Lorraine agreed, “That sounds good. I have seen enough art this afternoon.” Lorraine took Philippe’s arm in his and leaned in to kiss him softly. “It is so nice to just be able to walk around with you and do a little sightseeing with no obligations or worries.”

“But, I still flinch when I think of that sculptor taking a chisel and hammer to poor Apollo’s cock!”

“You know, they used to make museums put fig leaves on the nude statues.”

“Thank god, we live in a more enlightened time. There are still conservatives, but it is not near as stifling as it used to be.”

They made their way back to their room. Philippe ordered a fruit and cheese tray and a bottle of the Chateau Cremat Rose. Lorraine kicked off his shoes and sat on their couch putting his feet on the coffee table.

“It feels good to sit and relax. Get over here and take your shoes off and sit next to me.”

“How much time do we have before our reservations?” Philippe asked as he kicked off his shoes and joined Lorraine on the couch.

“I think it is almost four-thirty. That’s four hours minus the time to shower and dress and do your makeup and hair.”

“So, we have about two hours to kill. I don’t think eating cheese and fruit will take up all of two hours.” Philippe moved closer to Lorraine and put his hand on his knee, then moved his face in to meet his lips in a soft kiss. Lorraine returned the kiss, putting his hand on Philippe’s back and pushing Philippe into him. They sat, taking their time, enjoying a leisurely make-out session. But of course, it didn’t stay leisurely for long as passions began to grow.

Philippe’s hand had traveled over Lorraine’s bulge feeling it growing firmer. Philippe pushed Lorraine down on the couch and crawled on top of him, kissing him while their bodies pressed against each other. He stroked Lorraine’s face gently pushing the hair away, so he could cover his face in kisses.

There was a knock at the door. Their fruit, cheese and wine had arrived. With the platter, wine and glasses placed on the coffee table, Philippe settled in next to Lorraine, who was sitting again. Philippe poured a glass of wine for Lorraine, then one for himself.

“This is a very good rose,” remarked Lorraine as he took a drink.

“Yes, it is. I have to say that the Bellet wines here in Nice are surprisingly good. Strawberry, love?” Philippe dangled a strawberry in front of Lorraine’s face. Lorraine opened his mouth and took a bite of the proffered strawberry. Philippe popped the rest of the strawberry in his own mouth, ate it, then leaned over to kiss Lorraine. “Baiser a la fraise,” he murmured afterwards. [strawberry kiss]

Between bites of fruit and cheese, they kissed and drank their wine. Again, the kisses started out soft and tender, but as the fruit, cheese and wine disappeared, the kisses increased in intensity. Gentle caresses to face and hair became more exploratory. Philippe gently pushed the hair away from Lorraine’s ear, then whispered, “What shall we eat now that the fruit and cheese are gone?” He blew gently into Lorraine’s ear, bit his ear lobe, then ran the tip of his tongue down to Lorraine’s neck and began kissing and sucking Lorraine’s neck while his fingers unbuttoned the first few buttons on Lorraine’s shirt.

His hands pushed the shirt aside, so Philippe could kiss Lorraine’s shoulders. More buttons were undone revealing Lorraine’s chest. Philippe’s mouth kissed, then sucked its way across, then down Lorraine’s chest while Philippe’s hands undid the remaining buttons and slipped the shirt off Lorraine. Their lips met again in another hungry kiss, as hands explored and caressed. Philippe gently pushed his body against Lorraine’s pushing him down on the couch as Lorraine’s hands slid under his tee shirt and pushed it upwards. Philippe raised his arms, so Lorraine could pull the tee shirt over his head and drop it onto the floor.

As Philippe kissed Lorraine again, his hands worked to undo his pants, then slid them off with Lorraine’s assistance. Philippe was again whispering in Lorraine’s ear, “Mmm. I love how you respond to the slightest touch.” Lorraine moaned in response and Philippe asked, “Yes, love, shall I make you moan more? Oh yes, you like this, don’t you?”

Lorraine’s answer was a moaned, “God, yes,” followed by a loud gasp as Philippe’s mouth moved down to join the party. Lorraine moaned louder, and his body writhed as he grew closer to his release. And then Philippe removed his mouth and sat up.

“No, don’t stop, love, no,” begged a desperate Lorraine.

Philippe stood up, went to the bedroom, then came back. He removed his own pants and climbed back on the couch straddling Lorraine, on his knees. In his hand, he had their bottle of lube which he opened and poured onto his hand. He gently rubbed the lube liberally on Lorraine causing Lorraine to beg, “Philippe, please. I can’t hold out much longer.”

Philippe bent forward to kiss Lorraine as he lowered himself onto Lorraine. It was Philippe’s turn to moan as he began to feel more and more of Lorraine inside him. Lorraine remained still, resisting his urge to move until Philippe was comfortable. When Lorraine was fully inside him, Philippe began slow movements up and down, making his own small soft sounds.

Philippe leaned forward, kissed Lorraine again, and whispered in his ear, “Now, love, fuck me. Please.” Lorraine took over and did just that, making Philippe cry out with small groaning noises, until Lorraine gave himself up to the sensations washing over him and found his release.

Now it was Philippe’s turn to prepare Lorraine who was still feeling the after-effects of his own release. Philippe’s need was becoming urgent, but he worked his way slowly and carefully inside Lorraine. Philippe pushed Lorraine’s knees to his chest as he slid all the way in. Now it was Lorraine making soft sounds as Philippe answered his urgent desire.

Lorraine encouraged him with, “Yes, love, deeper, please.” Then Lorraine was no longer able to form words as Philippe’s movements became urgent. Lorraine looked into Philippe’s eyes, now a deep blue with desire and felt signs that Philippe was on the edge of his release. “Oh god, yes, love, feels good.” Lorraine felt Philippe shudder and go over the edge. Philippe moaned and gave Lorraine a few slow thrusts before releasing Lorraine’s legs and crumpling onto Lorraine, breathing heavily.

Lorraine ran his hand slowly through the dark curls, now damp from exertion. “My love, you do know you drive me to distraction, don’t you? I can never get enough of you.”

“You want more? Give me a minute, then. Mmmm. No, it may take a little longer than that. I seem to have exhausted myself.”

“Love, I am extremely satisfied right now. I just meant that I look forward to these times with you. I look forward to dining with you tonight with you resplendent in your new Chanel gown. I look forward to seeing all the envious faces as you walk on my arm, but mostly I look forward to more sex with you tonight, after I have carefully removed that gown. I live for our time together.”

“As do I love.” Philippe pushed himself upward to kiss Lorraine, softly, gently, then laid his head on Lorraine’s chest, listening to the comforting beat of Lorraine’s heart. They drifted into a light sleep, comfortable in their embrace.

A while later, Lorraine woke and gently shook Philippe. “It is time to get ready for our evening, love, wake up.”

Soon they were in the shower, scrubbing each other and washing their hair. Philippe pushed Lorraine against the wall of the shower and kissed him. Lorraine returned the kiss, but gently grabbed Philippe’s probing hands and said, “Later, love. There is no time, now. We need to fix your hair and put on your makeup.”

After the shower, they dried each other off. Lorraine used a fresh towel to get as much moisture out of Philippe’s hair as he could, then used a diffuser to gently dry his hair without losing curl or causing frizz. In turn, Philippe also blotted excess water out of Lorraine’s hair, then watched as Lorraine blew his hair dry, blowing his hair back and away from his face, allowing that one lock of hair to fall gently over his right eye.

“Love, how are we going to do this? If we do your hair and makeup first, then we may mess it up when you put the gown on. But if we put the gown on, we might get makeup on it.”

“How about I put the gown on, then put my robe on over it to ensure no makeup can get on it.”

“Are you sure it won’t get too wrinkled?”

“I don’t think this material wrinkles that easy. And I will be careful how I sit.”

Soon, Lorraine was applying makeup on Philippe’s face with a few directions from Philippe. Lorraine thought that it was very fortuitous that he was a fashion designer well-versed in the application and use of makeup to enhance his models. He also knew how to style hair. “This new Chanel liquid makeup is really great for you! It is so sheer—it evens out your skin without weighing it down and it has such a lovely blush to it.”

With Philippe’s face done to perfection, Lorraine started on Philippe’s hair. He swept the ends up into a very loose bun, winding a few chosen strands around the bun for effect. Then he teased a few strands from underneath the bun to flow down Philippe’s neck, curling them with a curling iron to add dramatic effect. Again, he teased strands from the bun on both sides of Philippe’s face, curling them also with the curling iron. Philippe had brought some pearl-tipped hair pins that Lorraine inserted to enhance the look. Finally, he released one small strand of hair from the upper hairline to fall strategically into Philippe’s face. He used the hand mirror to show Philippe the back and sides.

“How very lucky I am to have a fashion designer for a husband. One who knows how to style hair. I love it. Thank you!”

As Lorraine went to dress himself, Philippe tried to put on his Chanel shoes. But when Lorraine saw Philippe start to bend over, he stopped him. He was afraid gravity might loosen the hairs in Philippe’s do, and made Philippe sit in a chair while he, Lorraine, slid the shoes gently onto Philippe’s feet. “My dear Princess, did you lose a shoe?” Lorraine joked as he put the shoe on.

Philippe replied in falsetto, “Yes, my Prince Charming, I did. In fact, I lost both shoes at the ball—and something else, I am afraid—I was so, very, very drunk and so horny after being locked up so long by my wicked step-sisters.” They both laughed.

“I don’t think you would make a very virtuous Princess,” Lorraine teased.

“Nor you a loyal Prince Charming. I am afraid half the court would fall to your charms before you ever set eyes on the Princess!”

Lorraine feigned shocked indignation, “Madame, only half the court? I thought my charms so much better than that!” Again, they laughed, and Lorraine turned to dress himself.

Lorraine had brought several new suits he had designed for himself. Tonight, he chose a deep blue suit in a satiny material. Instead of the two sides of the jacket falling into a straight edge, both sides were cut into a diagonal, triangular shape so that the point of the triangles met at the button and buttonhole. He also picked out a shirt with a lace inset on both sides of the button plaque and that had a bell-shaped loose cuff.

Finally, they were dressed and ready to go. Lorraine reached over to take Philippe’s hand and to sneak a final kiss before going out, but Philippe pulled away.

“You’ll mess up my lipstick!”

“Then a kiss on the cheek.”

“No, that will smudge my foundation.”

“You don’t plan on allowing me to kiss you at all, then?”

“Not until we get seated at our table and everyone has seen me perfect. Then you may kiss me all you want.”

“Yes, my princess. May I at least take your arm in mine?”

“Please do.”

As they stepped out into the hall, their neighbor across the hall was also coming out of her room. She stared in shock at Philippe and Lorraine.

“Good evening, madame,” Lorraine said politely. “My husband and I are on our way to dinner at Le Chantecler here in the hotel.”

She looked at Philippe then at Lorraine.

Philippe spoke up, “Good evening. How do you like my new gown? I bought it here in Paris at the Chanel store. You should go there they have some nice things.” Philippe also was very polite.

She finally found her tongue enough to say, “You people are shameless!” and hurried off.

Philippe turned to Lorraine, “Do you think she was jealous of my new dress?”

“Love, she was jealous of your beauty AND the gown. Now, shall we go dine?”

They walked off arm in arm, a very lovely couple in some very fine clothes. When they got down to the restaurant, the maître ‘d showed them to their table. On the way to their table, they passed Johnny and another young man at a table. Johnny waved to them and they waved back. When they were being seated, Lorraine asked that they sit side by side instead of opposite each other. As the wait staff were rearranging the chairs and place settings, Johnny and his companion came up to talk to them.

“Philippe! I must say you look ravishing tonight! That is a very beautiful gown—and so Chanel! You wear it very well! Before I forget my manners, I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Sam Claren. Sam, these are two of our finest guests, Philippe Lorraine and Philippe Orleans. They are married and enjoying a long weekend here with us.”

Sam blushed and said, “I am so glad to meet you. I hope you don’t mind Mr. Orleans, but I am a big fan of yours. I am looking forward to your new music.”

“Call me Philippe and him Lorraine. It is a bit of a pain both having the same first name. The album should be out in the very near future. We have finished cutting it and it is now in production’s hands. We will be going on tour soon, too. I appreciate anyone who listens to my music because your support makes it possible for me to make my music.”

Johnny explained to Sam, “Lorraine is a well-known fashion icon. He has his own fashion house, the House of Lorraine, in Paris. You two are a very dashing couple tonight! Philippe, you are the most stunning person here tonight, except, of course my love Sam, and you look so beautiful!”

Sam said shyly, “You are so brave, Philippe! I could never have the courage to dress how I really want in public.”

Johnny put his arm around Sam and said, “Sam loves beautiful clothes, too, but he hasn’t had the courage to wear them in public. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought him here tonight because I knew you would be here, Philippe. I thought seeing you might give him courage.”

Philippe said, “There will always be those who don’t approve of you for some reason. You are the wrong religion, your hair color is wrong—it doesn’t matter, some will find a reason to hate. You just need the conviction that you know the best choice of what is right for yourself and follow through. I have had my detractors and, in the beginning, my reaction to criticism or mockery was pretty violent.”

Lorraine added, “Sam, you have no idea what Philippe used to do to people who mocked him. But now, he has learned to ignore them. It is a waste of time to even think about them.”

Philippe advised Sam, “Start out slow and work your way up. Walk around your neighborhood. Then go to the grocery store or some other normal public place. With each outing you will get more comfortable. But always go with Johnny or a friend. You never want to be alone. Bullies like the lone victim, but they are cowards at heart.”

“Thank you, Philippe. You have given me courage and inspiration. You look so magnificent this evening! There is not a person in this room who is more beautiful!”

“Thank you, Sam. Your saying that means a lot to me.”

Johnny said, “We’d better go and leave you alone, so you can order your food and enjoy your evening.  I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Lorraine pulled the chair out for Philippe to sit in. Philippe said, “Those two make a nice couple.”

“Yes, they do. Maybe we should invite them to join us Friday or Saturday night. Maybe we could help Sam get a new gown and join you.”

“I can’t wear this again! You’ll have to buy me another gown!”

“Only if we go somewhere besides Chanel. There are many stores that will have lovely gowns. Maybe we can invite Sam and Johnny to go shopping with us—or just Sam if Johnny has to work. I think we might buy him a gown. I doubt Johnny makes that much money.”

“It might make Sam uncomfortable. I don’t want him feeling like he is our charity case.”

“We will just have to find a way around that then. Now we need to look at the menu and order our meal. We can discuss Sam later.” Lorraine picked up his menu letting Philippe know that conversation was ended for now.

“I think I want the crab with vinaigrette dressing, tarragon and coral cream to start. Let’s see, for the main course I want the St. Jacques Coquilles [scallops] with cepes [mushrooms], risotto and red and white beets. For dessert, let’s see, the Cake stuffed Cannelloni garnished with citrus cream, mango marmalade and blackberries sound good. What about you. Philippe?”

“The Dublin Bay prawns sound good but are cooked in turmeric and come with Pak Cho cabbage. I’m not sure I like that. My other choice would be the sea bass and oyster with tartar, lemon cream and caviar from Sologne. I only like certain kinds of caviar and am not familiar with this one. I hate to pay for it and not eat it since it is so damned expensive.”

“I like caviar, I’ll eat it. It won’t go to waste. You can have one of my scallops from my entrée in exchange if you want.”

“That sounds good. Then I’ll have the venison and chestnuts with squash confit. And I definitely want the chocolate, caramel, and peanut with dark and milk chocolate delight, salted butter caramel, and 70% Peruvian dark chocolate sorbet. I don’t know what we are going to do about wine since we are eating such different things.”

“It says here their sommelier will select wine by the glass to go with our individual meals.”

“I don’t know. I usually prefer to get a bottle. That way I know it hasn’t been sitting.”

“But you just said, it will be difficult to get one bottle that will fit the different food we have. This is a very nice place and I don’t think they would offer wine that has been open too long. And sommeliers have very extensive training. They will know what is best. Give up a little control. Let the sommelier choose for us. I’m going to, but you can order your own bottle if you can’t relinquish a little control.”

“It’s not about control. I don’t like to drink bad wine.”

“I doubt this place sells bad wine, love.”

“Oh, okay. I just hope the sommelier has the same tastes as me.”

The waiter came, and they gave their orders. Philippe asked if the sommelier could come to their table after he had viewed their order.”

“Certainly, Mr. Orleans. I will let him know.”

Lorraine shook his head in disbelief. “You just can’t give up control, can you?”

Philippe decided to ignore the comment. The sommelier was quick to come to their table. Philippe asked him what wines he was thinking about for their meal.

“Mr. Orleans, do you want to stay local or would you like to mix in some wines from other appellations in France? We have some very good wines here, but there are also some exceptional ones from other locations. Myself, I prefer to mix the two.”

“Then let’s mix the two. I want a glass of wine for my first course, two for my entrée, and one for my dessert. What do you have in mind?”

“For the bass and oysters, we have an exceptional wine, a sauvignon blanc from the town of Sancerre, of the Sancerre appellation in the Loire region of France. The wine, named after eighteen generations of proprietors, all named Alphonse Mellot after their fathers, the Alphonse Mellot Edmond Sancerre Blanc 2016 is produced from the estate’s oldest vines. I highly recommend it. An interesting fact about this family of wine growers is that in 1698, César Mellot was appointed as Wine Advisor to Louis XIV. That gives you an idea of how long this family has been involved with viticulture.”

“Louis XIV you say—that is a very interesting fact. The wine sounds perfect for my oysters. What about the crab for Mr. Lorraine?”

“The Sancerre would work very well for him, also. As would a Muscadet from the appellation, Muscadet Sevre et Maine from Loire, France. We offer a 2013 Pierre Luneau-Papin Excelsior.”

Lorraine spoke up, “I think I would prefer the Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. I am not particularly fond of Muscadet.”

“Very well, sir, I will get you a glass of the same Sancerre as Mr. Orleans. Now for the pairing with the venison, I suggest a local red, Chateau Bellet Red 2015. I believe it will be perfect for you. And you want two glasses of that, correct?”

“For the second glass, why don’t I get the Chateau de Cremat Rouge, so I can compare them?”

“Yes, we have a 2011 that will work very nicely. I would be interested to hear what you think when you compare the two. They are both very good. And for you, Mr. Lorraine, to go with your scallops, I suggest the Gerard Boulay Sauvignon Blanc 2017 from the village of Chavignol in the Sancerre appellation. It is a young wine, but it will pair very well with your scallops.”

“And finally, we get to the desserts. Mr. Orleans, your chocolate dessert deserves our Chateau Branaire-Ducru 2012 from St. Julien, Bordeaux, France. This bordeaux is excellent with rich chocolate desserts like yours. Mr. Lorraine, your dessert is on the other end of the spectrum—cannelloni filled with cake and garnished with various fruit flavors. You will need a sauterne to go with that. We have a Chateau De Rayne Vigneau 2011 sauterne from the region of Graves and the town of Bommes.”

Lorraine answered, “That sounds perfect, thank you.”

“Do you have any questions before I leave?”

“Yes, how long do you normally keep an opened bottle of wine?”

“Good question. Our wines are very well-priced, especially the more expensive ones, so we tend to use up a bottle in a day or less. We label each bottle with the date and time they are opened, and each day I go through to pull those that have exceeded our one-day limit. There are certain delicate wines that I pull after only twelve hours because they lose their flavor quickly. If I find an opened bottle that is not marked, it is taken out immediately.”

“What do you do with the outdated wine?” Lorraine asked.

“Usually, we have a little end of day celebration after we are done with work. Nothing rowdy. Just us taking the time to depressurize. I keep meticulous logs of incoming wine, open date, etc. so there is no fraud, like people opening a bottle and mislabeling it so it is pulled too early. Tonight, I believe we will be opening new bottles of all the wines you are ordering.”

Philippe responded with, “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me and for your lovely recommendations.”

“We aim to serve you only the best, sir.”

After the sommelier left, Philippe said, “I knew Cesar Mellot. I just didn’t remember until he refreshed my memory.”

Lorraine frowned and said, “Yes, I remember how very well you knew him.”

“Don’t be jealous, love, he was just a passing affair.”

“Oh yes, and I suppose you will say that fine, muscular physique and his very dark eyes and handsome face had nothing to do with it at all, then? You do know he was probably just using you to climb the social ladder at court?”

“Of course, love. I was fully aware that a young man like Cesar would only be interested in an older one like myself for political gain. The truth was, he might have been very handsome and finely built, but he was a bit of a bore and a very bad lover. The only real passion he had was for wine. You know how I have always been interested in wine. Here was this beautiful young man who had such a great knowledge of wine eager to please an old man like myself. How could I resist? But he was just a passing distraction. No one ever came close to exciting me as much as you did—and still do.”

“So now I shall be jealous of him every time you order wine.” Lorraine sighed.

“No, don’t be, love. I had totally forgotten about him until the sommelier gave us that fact. And by tomorrow I will have forgotten about him again—probably sooner. There is nothing for you to be jealous of. You were a hundred times better looking than he ever was! And you must admit, you had your little dalliances here and there.” Philippe leaned over and kissed Lorraine. “What matters is what we have now, love.”

“Yes, and you do look so lovely, tonight. I know I am one lucky guy to have you on my arm!” Their next kiss was interrupted by their server bringing them their appetizers and first glasses of wine.

Philippe tentatively took a little of the caviar on his fork and tasted it. He liked it. He dipped a piece of the sea bass in the tartar then used his knife to spoon a bit of the caviar onto the bass, then put it all into his mouth. He shook his head in acknowledgement that it was very good. He prepared another fork and fed it to Lorraine who also shook his head in agreement that it was good. Lorraine took some of the vinaigrette dressed crabmeat piled artfully on his plate, then dipped it into the coral cream and ate it. It was very good, also, so he fed Philippe a fork of it. They sipped their wine and finished the appetizer both agreeing that it all was very good.

Their entrees arrived next, along with the first glass their chosen wine. Lorraine took one look at Philippe’s venison and said, “Love, I think they forgot to cook your venison.”

Philippe answered, “It is more tender if it is not cooked long. Your scallops look perfectly cooked. Could I have a bite of those beets. I have never had those kinds before.”

“Of course, love. I wouldn’t mind a bite of your squash, too.”

They shared their food with each other, then kissed lovingly before returning to their own plates. Philippe drank half of his glass of the Chateau Bellet red then called the waiter over to ask for his second glass, the Chateau Cremat red, so he could compare the two.

Lorraine asked, “What is the verdict?”

Philippe answered, “I don’t know. The Bellet has great notes of cherry and oak, but the Cremat has notes I think of strawberry and spices. I love strawberries, but I think the Bellet is a bit richer. They both are very good, and I would never refuse a glass of either, but if given a choice of only one, I think it would have to be the Chateau Bellet. Why don’t you take a taste of each and see which one you like best?”

“I am no wine expert.”

“Don’t think about anything but which one you would want to drink again. Here, taste this one.”

Lorraine tried to follow Philippe’s technique of swirling the wine in the glass and smelling it, then taking a drink and swishing it in his mouth before swallowing.” The one thing Philippe never did was spit out the wine unless it was bad or unless he was at an official wine-tasting. Philippe directed him to take a drink of water to clear his mouth then offered the second glass. Lorraine wasn’t sure which was which.

Philippe looked at him expectantly. “Don’t be shy or self-conscious. Your honest opinion is important to me and I won’t judge.”

“Well. . . I think I liked the second glass the best. It was fruity, but not too sweet. The other one seemed to have a slightly bitter aftertaste and was much sweeter up front. Too sweet.”

“The second glass was the Chateau Bellet. You said the same things about both that I was thinking, you just didn’t use my fancy words. You underestimate your knowledge, love.”

“What if I would have liked the first glass?”

“That would have been all right, too. People’s taste buds react differently. And I said both wines were good. If I liked a different one than you did, it is okay because your taste buds probably reacted differently than mine did. Yours might be more sensitive to sweet while mine more sensitive to bitter. So, with that settled, let’s get back to our meal.”

They finished their entrees and their desserts were brought along with their chosen glasses of wine.

Again, they traded tastes of the other’s dessert. Lorraine ate one of the dark chocolate balls with the accompanying caramel disk and peanut and one of the milk chocolate balls, with just a taste of the sorbet.

“Oh my god, this is chocolate heaven!” he exclaimed. I can’t believe how good this is!”

Philippe agreed saying this was the best-tasting chocolate he had ever eaten—and the sorbet was so rich and fantastic!

“You do know where chocolate originated from don’t you?” Lorraine asked.

“No, where?”

“Peru, the Andes mountains. Don’t you remember at Versailles, that huge chocolate fountain? 70% of that chocolate in that sorbet comes from Peru, so you are tasting original, homegrown chocolate.”

“I had forgotten that. Wherever it comes from it is delicious! And those cannelloni were magnificent. But I thought cannelloni were used in savory applications.”

Lorraine also was puzzled, “I know Italians have cannoli—fried pasta piped with a ricotta-cream filling. I also thought cannelloni was a pasta stuffed with meat or meat, mushroom, spinach, onion or some other similar item and then sauced with a red or white savory sauce. This seems to be some sort of hybrid—cannelloni stuffed with sweet stuff. Whatever that filling was, I’d like to have the whole cake to eat! And those different garnishes were good, too. I like the blackberry best.”

“I think it would have been better with strawberries.”

Lorraine reached over and stroked Philippe’s face, “Of course, you would. I know how you love your strawberries!”

The waiter came up and said, “Our sommelier would like to offer you one free glass of wine for the end of your meal—your choice of the ones you had tonight. He will be over to talk to you in a few moments.”

Philippe was quick to say, “I’d like the Chateau Bellet, please.”

Lorraine also asked for that one even though he had not actually ordered it with his food. He just liked the taste Philippe had given him and wanted a red to end the evening on.

Soon the sommelier came over with their wines. “I see from your choice of this wine that you seem partial to the Chateau Bellet. Mr. Orleans was it your favorite between it and the Chateau Cremat?”

“Yes, it was. I liked the Chateau Cremat well enough but thought the Chateau Bellet had a better balance.”

“That seems to be the opinion of quite a few people, myself included. Both wines are popular locally but are hard to find elsewhere. It is a combination of lack of effective outside marketing and the smaller production. Have you been on a winery tour yet?”

“No, we are going tomorrow,” Philippe answered.

“Good. You will probably notice then that the vines are grown on steep terrain which requires a lot of manual labor to care for the vines and to harvest the grapes. That means smaller yields and higher prices when distributed out of Nice. With the very many great wines grown all across France that are more readily available and cheaper, the demand is lower for this very fine wine. But that just means we get to enjoy all we want of it here in Nice. It has been a pleasure to serve you tonight! I hope the rest of your evening goes well. And by the way, Mr. Orleans, you do look gorgeous tonight! Mr. Lorraine, you are one lucky guy.”

“And about to get luckier when we get back to our room,” Lorraine said, smiling. The exchange made Philippe blush.

As the sommelier walked away, Lorraine said, “I think he was flirting with you, love.”

“No, no he wasn’t. He just appreciated my—our—knowledge of wines.”

“Oh, he seemed to appreciate much more than that. I saw the way he looked you up and down. I thought I was going to have to fight for your honor and I am not much in the mood for dueling tonight.”

“You know I only have eyes for you, love.”

“But I know how you love your wine, and I imagine a fling with a sommelier would be something you might enjoy.”

“Maybe before I met you, but not now.” Philippe put his hand on Lorraine’s knee. “Now, all I want is you.” He began moving his hand up the inside of Lorraine’s thigh.

“And just what do you think you are doing?”

“What does it feel like, love? This material is really silky.”

“No, stop. Let’s drink our wine and get back to our room where we can have some privacy. I am just dying to take that dress off you.”

Philippe leaned in close and took his hand from Lorraine’s thigh to push back the hair on the side of his neck. He began kissing and sucking on Lorraine’s neck. He blew in Lorraine’s ear and licked his ear, stopping to nibble on the ear lobe.

Lorraine responded by picking up his wine glass and taking a long swallow. “Philippe, really, finish your wine so we can leave.”

“Don’t you want to make the sommelier jealous?” Philippe moved in to kiss Lorraine.

After the kiss, Lorraine said, “I don’t want to make anyone jealous. I just want to drink our wine and go.” Lorraine finished off his wine and pushed Philippe gently back. “I am done with my wine, now please finish yours or I will drink it for you.”

Philippe sat back. “Very well, then.” He finished off the wine.

“Now, I am afraid, if the sommelier is watching, you just offended him by chugging the wine he gave you.”

“So, let him be offended. I thought you were ready to leave.”

“Yes, I just need to sign the tab. Here comes our waiter with it. Just hold off for a few minutes, okay?”

“I am waiting patiently.” Philippe had his head on Lorraine’s shoulder and his arm draped around the front of his waist.

The waiter asked if there was anything else they needed, and Lorraine told him, “Just the check, please.”

Soon, the tab was signed, and Lorraine and Philippe were walking back to their room, arms around each other. Philippe kept kissing and sucking on Lorraine’s neck and Lorraine told him, “You know you are acting like a slut right now. You forget that women have to be demure, and not so aggressive.”

“I am a modern woman and I will do as I please.”

“Then, if you don’t care for your reputation,” Lorraine turned and grabbed both sides of Philippe’s head and gave him an intense, tongue-twisting kiss, pulling him in close and running his hands down Philippe’s back, grabbing his buttocks and pushing Philippe into Lorraine’s body.

“Now, will that hold you until we get back to the room, or do you want me to throw you on the floor right here and fuck you.”

“To the room, quickly.” They hurried, arms around each other’s waists. The problem was, in that dress, Philippe could not take big steps, so Philippe reached down and pulled the dress up to his knees, so they could walk faster. They finally made it to the room and slipped inside. Lorraine turned Philippe around and kissed the back of his neck while his hands pulled the zipper down.

“Careful, love, don’t tug too hard on that zipper.”

“I am being very careful, now stand still. When the zipper was all the way down, Lorraine put his hands inside the dress and made his way back up to Philippe’s shoulders. He stopped again to kiss and suck on Philippe’s neck and shoulders, leaning in to press his body against Philippe’s. Then his hands gently pushed the sleeves off his shoulders and down his arms, kissing his arms along the way. His lips went up to the back of Philippe’s neck as Philippe pulled his arms out of the sleeves and Lorraine pushed the dress down to Philippe’s waist. Lorraine put his arms around Philippe and hugged him pressing himself against Philippe.

Philippe could now feel Lorraine’s desire poking at him through the material of the dress. “Love let’s finish getting this dress off before it gets too wrinkled or stained,” he told Lorraine.

“I thought you said the dress didn’t wrinkle,” Lorraine continued kissing and sucking on Philippe’s neck and shoulders, while holding him tight with his arms and pushing against him.

“Not easily, but this is getting intense.”

Lorraine slid his hands down to the dress and gently pulled it down further until Philippe could step out of it. Now Philippe was in a long slip and his underwear. Lorraine pulled the slip up and over Philippe’s head. Philippe bent down to pick up the dress. Lorraine then put his arms around Philippe and pushed him towards the bedroom. In the bedroom, he let Philippe hang the dress up before he put his arms around Philippe again.

Philippe helped Lorraine undress, taking off his suit jacket, unbuttoning his shirt, “My god, this shirt has a lot of buttons,” Philippe complained. Then his pants—that had more buttons to undo instead of a zipper. “Do you have a button fetish I don’t know about?”

“I just think buttons are sexier to undo than zippers,” Lorraine replied. Philippe helped Lorraine out of the rest of his clothes. Lorraine pushed Philippe towards the bed and down on to it with his head towards the top of the bed. Lorraine crawled into the bed beside Philippe, however he laid down opposite to Philippe with his head at the foot of the bed. Philippe knew exactly what Lorraine wanted and he scooted down. They stimulated each other with hands and mouth. It had been a while since they had used this position and they soon realized why—it was difficult maintaining concentration on what they were doing to the other, as their own sensations increased. Before long, they were both very aroused, moaning and gyrating their hips in reaction to the actions of the other when Lorraine stopped what he was doing and told Philippe, “Finish me off, love. I’m so close. Then, please, fuck me.”

“Are  you sure?”

“Yes, I am.” Lorraine moaned as Philippe worked to bring him to orgasm. Lorraine cried out ,“Oh, my god, love,” as he found his release.

When Lorraine stopped moaning, Philippe got onto his knees and pushed Lorraine onto his stomach. He reached for the lube on the nightstand, moved behind Lorraine and pulled Lorraine’s hips up. He proceeded to prepare himself and Lorraine. Lorraine inhaled sharply when Philippe finally penetrated him and slowly began pushing himself in deeper.  Philippe’s hands slid to Lorraine’s shoulders. He leaned over Lorraine to kiss the back of his neck, then wrapped his arms around Lorraine’s waist hugging him tightly. Lorraine started making little moaning noises as Philippe began moving.

“Love are you okay?” Philippe asked.

“God, yes, don’t stop.”

As Philippe let his desire take over, Lorraine’s moaning gasps got louder. Now Philippe was making his own soft noises as the need built in him spurned on by Lorraine’s encouragements.

Lorraine felt Philippe shudder and let out a long, deep moan followed by an “Oh, god” as his nerves fired, followed by some slow, deep thrusts, until Philippe was satiated and exhausted. He kissed the back of Lorraine’s neck again and hugged him again. “Damn, I love fucking you. Do you want your turn now? I love that, too.”

“No, I think I am spent for the night.”

Philippe rolled on to the bed beside Lorraine who snuggled up next to him and kissed him. “This was a wonderful evening. The food was great, and your company was even better. The best part was taking that dress off you and the sex that came afterwards.”

Philippe leaned over, pushed Lorraine’s hair from his face and kissed him. “Every night is good with you, love.”

They wrapped their arms around each other and snuggled. Sleep found them very quickly.

 


	70. Art, Roman Ruins, and Wineries of Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lorraine and Philippe spend the day visiting the museums of artists Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse, ancient olive groves, Roman ruins including an old amphitheater, and the Chateau Cremat and Chateau Bellet wineries. Lorraine realizes the hazards of making love on the rough stones of Roman ruins and a doctor is called.

They had a busy day planned for the next day, Friday, that included several winery tours, and a visit to the Marc Chagall and Matisse art museums/galleries. Lorraine had asked for an early (for Philippe anyway) wake-up call at nine in the morning. Lorraine woke just a little before the call and was laying there wondering whether he should go ahead and get up, when the phone rang. Since Philippe was closest to the phone, Lorraine gently nudged him to get him to answer the phone, but only got a mumbled grunt out of him. A less gentle nudge got the same results. Lorraine leaned over Philippe putting his hand on Philippe’s chest to support himself, pressing down none too gently, as he picked up the phone and thanked the caller.

That had gotten an indignant mumbled, “What the hell?” out of Philippe.

Lorraine kissed Philippe’s cheek and answered, “Love, it is time to get up. We’ve got a busy day, including two winery tours.” He quickly slid across the bed out of Philippe’s reach because he knew what was coming next. He was almost too slow as Philippe’s hands grabbed for him and barely missed.

“Are you just going to jump out of bed without even kissing me good morning?”

“I kissed you. On your cheek.”

“That doesn’t count! I need a real kiss.”

“And we both know where that will lead.”

“And what is so wrong with that?”

“Nothing. I had something planned for the shower, but if you just want to lay there and sleep, I can shower without you.” Lorraine grabbed his robe and went into the bathroom to turn the water on for the shower. Just as he suspected, it wasn’t but a few minutes before a tousle-headed Philippe walked groggily into the bathroom.

“Why are you always so cheerful in the mornings?” Philippe groused.

“And why are you always so grumpy?” asked Lorraine as he brushed his teeth.

“Because I don’t like getting up before I’ve had sex. Some people need coffee, I need sex.”

Lorraine felt the water in the shower and stepped in. “Come join me, then.”

Philippe ignored Lorraine and turned to the sink where he fumbled for his tooth brush. Lorraine was splashing about in the shower, making lots of noise and humming to himself as he soaped himself down, trying to entice Philippe into the shower. A few minutes later, Philippe pushed the shower door open and stepped in.

“God, you are making a lot of noise. Your cheerfulness is nauseating. Here, let me shut you up for a few minutes.” Philippe grabbed Lorraine’s head with both hands and pulled him towards him, putting his mouth over Lorraine’s and kissing him long and hard. He pushed Lorraine against the shower wall, kissing him again and pushing his naked body against Lorraine’s. Philippe was already very aroused, and he was aggressively trying to achieve the same for Lorraine as his hands moved down to Lorraine’s cock.

Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “I seem to remember it is your turn to fuck me.” Then Philippe slid down to his knees and used his mouth to arouse Lorraine further. Lorraine could not help but moan in response. He was quickly catching up to Philippe and finally reached down to pull Philippe up for a long, passionate, kiss. As the kiss ended, he reached for the bottle of oil they kept in the shower, put his hands upon Philippe’s hips and spun them both around so Philippe was now facing the shower wall and Lorraine was behind him. Lorraine pushed Philippe’s wet hair away from the back of his neck and began sucking and nibbling on it. His hands slid around to Philippe’s chest and began playing with his pecs and nipples as he pushed his hips against Philippe’s.

He whispered into Philippe’s ear, “Tell me, what do you want me to do now?”

Philippe answered, “Fuck me!”

“And why should I do that?” Lorraine asked as he continued sucking and nibbling on Philippe’s neck and back while still pushing his hips into Philippe’s.

“It’s your turn,” was Philippe’s answer.

Lorraine now poured some oil into his hand and began rubbing on Philippe’s buttocks. “What if your grumpiness has gotten me out of the mood.”

“You are in the mood, I can feel your cock against me. Stop teasing me and get on with it.” Philippe gasped as an oiled finger penetrated him. Lorraine worked quickly and was soon inside Philippe making him moan, then cry out as Lorraine fulfilled his promise. Philippe used one hand on the shower wall to steady himself as he used the other to stroke himself, so he’d find release close to the same time as Lorraine did. Philippe was the first to cry out, but Lorraine wasn’t too far behind him. Lorraine pushed Philippe face first into the shower wall as he held on to Philippe for support, breathing heavily.

Philippe managed to turn enough to loosen Lorraine’s grip on him. Lorraine let go and Philippe turned to face him and put his arms around Lorraine to support him. Philippe used a hand to raise Lorraine’s face to kiss him. “I am in a much better mood now, love,” he whispered.

“But now,  I am exhausted,” replied Lorraine still short of breath.

“You just need your coffee, love, and some breakfast.” Now Philippe was the cheerful one. He turned off the shower, helped Lorraine out of the shower and dried him off with a towel. “Let’s get dressed and go get some coffee and breakfast.” Soon they were both dressed for the day and on their way down to breakfast.

They stopped to talk to Johnny. Lorraine asked, “Would you and Sam be interested in going out to dinner with us tonight? Philippe and Sam could both wear something beautiful for the occasion.”

“That’s very kind of you to ask us, but we were planning on meeting some friends. We would love to have you join us though! We’d love to show you around Nice and enjoy some of the hot spots here. It would be a lot of fun!”

Lorraine wasn’t sure what to say, when Philippe jumped in, “Yes, that would be fun, if you don’t mind us tagging along.”

“No, we won’t mind if you join us. You haven’t gotten the true Nice experience until you’ve been to Le Glam.”

“Le Glam? That sounds interesting. What kind of place is it?” asked Lorraine.

“It’s a nightclub. Dancing, music, live shows. Sam and I go there all the time with friends and have a great time. There’s also Le Six. Not sure if we’re going there or not, but we sometimes wind up there. We’ll pick you up in the front parking area at ten tonight.”

“What should we wear?” Lorraine asked.

“Casual—very casual.”

“When you say very casual, does that mean shorts? Neither of us wear shorts in public,” Lorraine again asked.

“Not shorts. Avoid touristy. Jeans and a tee shirt are fine. You can go fetish if you want, but I had better get back to work. Have fun on your wine tours.”

“Thanks! We’ve got a full day ahead of us,” Philippe answered.

“You might want to take a little nap. It will probably be a very late night or early morning before we get done partying.”

“Thanks for the heads up. See you tonight then.”

As Lorraine and Philippe walked away, Lorraine said to Philippe, “I don’t remember seeing either of those two places in the pamphlet Johnny gave us yesterday. And what did he mean we can go fetish?”

“Those are probably places where only locals hang out. And I have no idea what he meant by that last thing. Maybe it’s something unique to Nice.”

“I guess it is good that I did bring one pair of jeans. We must be getting old. Beginning an evening out at ten seems late to me. You know I do remember something about that fetish thing from my days of socializing, but I can’t remember exactly what it was. I know what a fetish is but how do you ‘go fetish’?”

“Beats me. Ten o’clock is not that late. You think nothing of sitting and drinking wine until late, then having sex until the wee hours of the morning. We just have a different dynamic. We like to stay in because our activities usually involve just the two of us.”

“I know. I did go to a lot of parties and social events that lasted until the sun came up before I met you. It’s funny how it seems so long ago, but it isn’t really.”

“Well, I didn’t go out at all, but would stay up for days. Mostly because of drugs. Glad to be out of that hole now.”

“What in the world did you do in that flat when you stayed up several days?”

“You don’t really want to know, and I don’t want to talk about it. Now, let’s get some breakfast, I’m starved.”

“And I still need my coffee.”

They went into La Rotonde and asked for a booth upstairs away from the families with loud children.

They had a good breakfast—Philippe got his fresh strawberries and Lorraine got his coffee. They were done in time to meet the driver/guide who was going to take them around today. Their first stop was at the Marc Chagall National Museum.

At the museum Philippe and Lorraine learned that Marc Chagall was born in Vitebsk, Belarus (Russia) in 1887 into a devout Hasidic Jewish family. The work in the Chagall Musee National north of Nice is based on his biblical themes reflecting his devout religious convictions. He said once that he “didn’t read the Bible, he dreamed it.” In 1907 he moved to Paris and joined La Ruche (the Beehive) art commune where he painted alongside Amadeo Modigliani and Fernand Leger who influenced him to incorporate tenets of fauvism and cubism into his already dreamlike painting style. He took a trip back to Vitebsk and was trapped there by the outbreak of WWI in 1912. He married the love of his life, Bella, and they had a daughter, Ida, the next year. While some of his paintings reflected the hardships and worries of war, he did happy paintings of his wife and child as well as a series of “Lovers” paintings. He was finally able to get his family back to Paris in 1922, after a brief stay in Berlin.

His fame spread throughout Europe through his paintings, book etchings and illustrations. He released an autobiography, My Life, in 1932. As Fascism and Nazism came to power and enacted their “cultural cleansing” in Germany, they declared him a “degenerate” and ordered his paintings in museums throughout the country be removed, burning some of them. Their persecution of him forced him to move his family to southern France. Eventually he and his family were given visas to the United States because the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York added him to a list of artists and intellectuals most at risk and pushed to get him and his family to safety.

In 1948 he returned to Paris and in 1950 he moved to Saint-Paul-de-Vence just north of Nice where the Chagall Musee National is located. He extended his skills to include sculpture, ceramics, and stained glass and had worked in set and costume design in the U.S. In 1977 Chagall received the Grand Medal of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest accolade. That same year, he became one of only a handful of artists in history to receive a retrospective exhibition at the Louvre. He died on March 28, 1985, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence at age 97, leaving behind a vast collection of work along with a rich legacy as an iconic Jewish artist and pioneer of modernism.

Lorraine and Philippe walked arm in arm through the museum, looking at the colorful, dreamlike paintings depicting scenes from the Bible. Chagall had his own style that incorporated the rich colors of Fauvism and some of the shifting planes of the Cubists. Some of his tall, thin figures were reminiscent of Modigliani’s. He wove all of this into the dream worlds of his paintings. Chagall helped plan and lay out the building while he was alive. He specified the way he wanted his works to be seen, the progression and the groupings. The one-story building was surrounded by lush gardens. In the following video you can see the same paintings that Philippe and Lorraine saw (just ignore the family posing in the video—they did produce a good video that captured the museum well and didn’t mug too much.) The video will take you from the museum to the streets of Vieux Nice (Old Nice), then to the Baroque cathedrals in Vieux Nice. The Baroque style was popular during Louis XIV’s reign—an extravagant, boldly opulent, emotionally expressive style which both Lorraine and Philippe knew well, having lived at Versailles—the epitome of the lavish Baroque style. The Baroque style included a lot of marble of many colors, much gold plating, and plenty of sweet cherubs and angels.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI3JsF_ltDY> _Video of Chagall Museum, Vieux Nice, Baroque Cathedrals in Vieux Nice_

This second video also shows both museums and grounds around them, a bit of the olive gardens, the monastery and church, and a bit of the Roman ruins and amphitheater. It also shows the views of Nice from the sights.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHyYEoMtfv0> _Video of Marc Chagall and the Matisse Museums, olive gardens, the monastery/church, Roman ruins and amphitheater and area around them._

After walking through the museum, they took a short stroll around the beautiful gardens that surrounded the museum.

On the way back to the car, Lorraine said, “I am looking forward to seeing the Matisse paintings! While I found Chagall’s bright colors and dreamlike scenes beautiful, I wasn’t that fond of his subject matter.”

Philippe answered, “A lot of what was in the paintings didn’t have much meaning to me because I have lost a lot of the biblical knowledge I had. I am not the proper Catholic I was at Versailles and have had no religious training in this life.”

“Yes, it is hard to believe in something that condemns you for how you were born.”

“Let’s change the subject, shall we? I believe, from that pamphlet, that there are ancient Roman ruins close to the Matisse museum site. They had a military garrison there once, I think. I look forward to seeing that.”

It was a five-minute drive north to the Matisse museum. Their driver and guide asked them if they would like to stop at the Musee d’Archeologie first. He told them it wouldn’t take long to go through it, but it would get them in the mood for the Roman ruins and give them some insight into them.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5pjpyuJBrs>  _Video of the Musee Archeologique of Cimiez and the Roman ruins._

They wandered through the museum arm in arm, looking at the many remnants of Roman life—pottery, coins, household goods and the like. Of special interest was a small exhibit on the Pier Promenade of Nice. It was a casino built on stilts inspired by the English Brighton Pier. It was meant to attract the flocks of English who came to Nice on vacation. It opened in April of 1883, but was destroyed by fire three days later, luckily with no fatalities. The building was rebuilt in 1891 and flourished during the Belle Epoque as a place for walking, conviviality, a circle of games, reading, and musical performances of quality. When WWI broke out, it was turned into a convalescent center for war victims. After the war, it was remodeled and opened for business again. During WWII, the Italian army took control of the Alpes Maritime in November 1942 and the Pier Promenade closed the next month. When fascist Italy capitulated and withdrew, the Wehrmacht quickly took their place. From 1943-44 the Germans ordered the Pier Promenade and other buildings in Nice to be stripped of all metals needed to support the German war effort. The Germans moved into the Pier Promenade setting up an encampment. When they retreated in 1944, to prevent the building from being used by the Allies, they dismantled the superstructure of the building.

Philippe remarked, “How sad for such a beautiful building to be destroyed like that. But in war, there are few rules and no consideration for what will come after. You do whatever you must for your side to win and in the process so much is destroyed and lost.”

Lorraine gave him a comforting hug, knowing that Philippe’s memories of the battles he had been in remained with him—usually buried deep inside him, but coming out at times such as these.

Philippe said, almost in a whisper, “I am glad I was not alive during either world war. What those soldiers had to go through must have been absolutely horrible.”

Lorraine gently pushed him on to the next exhibit and remarked on the Roman statue ahead of them. “Now that is an interesting statue! It says it is Antonia Minor.”

Philippe responded, “Yes, I remember reading about her! She was married to Drusus, a famed Roman military leader. She went with him on his campaigns and the soldiers loved her and called her, ‘Mother of the Legions.’ She was the daughter of Marc Antony and Octavia Minor, but when Antony deserted his family for Cleopatra, her uncle, Octavian, raised her. He later became Augustus Caesar. Her son, Claudius, also became one of the greatest Roman Emperors. When her husband, Drusus, died at an early age, she never remarried, but remained influential in Roman society. She was given the honorary title _Augusta_ by the senate. She was probably one of the most powerful Roman women to have ever lived. It is amazing to see her statue here in France.”

 “Yes, and look, I think this is a statue of Pan. Yes, there are his  horns. He has a tail in the back. His legs and arms have not survived, but I bet his legs ended in hooves!”

“You are wrong. These are Roman statues, and this is probably the Roman god Fauna, derived from the Greek god, Pan,” corrected Philippe.

“Now that I think of it, shouldn’t his lower half be that of a goat and not a human?”

“I would think so, but I guess the sculptor of this one had other ideas. Look, there is a scale model of what the entire Roman settlement looked like. It was very extensive.”

Lorraine picked up a brochure with the history of the area on it. “It says here, the first settlement was by a tribe of Celtic-Ligurians on the top of the hill. There is still part of their wall visible.  In the first century, the Gallo-Romans moved in and expanded the buildings to the bottom of the hill and called the city Cemenium. It became the prefecture of the Roman province of the Alpes-Maritimes. In the fourth century, it loses prefecture status to Embrun and begins to decline as people move to Nice to the south. From the sixth century forward, the city falls apart and only the large olive orchards and vineyards operated by large villas like Villa Gubernatis, which will later become the Matisse Museum, and the Monastery of Cimiez remain.”

“That is interesting. So, the olive orchards date from at least the sixth century? I doubt that any of those original olive trees exist—they’d be over two thousand years old!”

“I don’t know, I’ve heard that olive trees can live a very long time.”

“Let’s ask the guy behind the counter and see if he knows.”

They walked over to the counter and Philippe asked the man behind the counter if any of the olive trees here dated back to the sixth century. The answer was no, but the average life span was five hundred years, and many in the garden were at least a hundred or more years old. He told them the fathers at the monastery took very good care of their trees. The man added that the three trees at Gethsemane, Jerusalem have been proven to be nine hundred years old and it is possible that their roots could be even older, since an olive tree can regenerate through its roots. He added that one of the oldest olive trees is the olive tree of Vouves in Chania, Greece on the island of Crete. While most agree it is at least two thousand years old, some scientists believe it could be closer to four thousand years old.

Philippe walked away shaking his head in disbelief.

“Well, I think we have seen about everything here. Shall we go on outside and look at the Roman ruins?” Lorraine suggested.

Philippe, however wanted to go to the olive grove first to have a look at centuries old olive trees. As they walked up the path to the olive groves, Philippe said, “I just can’t believe a tree could be that old!”

“I’ve heard of oak trees that were at least a hundred years old. What about the redwoods? Aren’t they really old?”

“Yes, I guess so, but those are large trees. Olives are not that large.”

“Does size really matter? Just think how long olive trees have been cultivated. Olive oil was in use during the time of the ancient Greeks and I imagine way before that.” Lorraine commented.

Philippe then replied, “If that two-thousand-year-old tree on the island of Crete was really four thousand years old that would make its origins about 2000 BC. What civilization existed in that area of Greece at that time? Who took care of it? Imagine how many generations would have tended it!”

“Or if it was your turn and you didn’t have a green thumb and killed it! The guilt!” Lorraine laughed. Philippe ignored his joke.

“It looks like we are coming to the olive grove. It’s quite extensive!” 

“It looks like the trees are of varying ages. Some have thin trunks and others have thick, gnarly trunks. Since they are small trees, I imagine they don’t grow fast. The thin trunked ones seem to be as tall as the thicker trunked ones.”

“I think they have all been pruned and cut back. Probably to keep them dense without thin, long, spindly branches. Maybe they bear more olives if trimmed, too.”

They reached the grove and started walking through it. “It is quiet and peaceful here,” Lorraine remarked.

Philippe added, “I can almost feel the benevolent presence of the trees. I am getting a very calm vibe.”

“I think the further into the grove we go, the more sound is blocked. I no longer hear the background noise of the bustling city.”

They continued walking, arm in arm, the  grove surrounding them and drowning out all the sound of the modern world. Ahead Philippe saw what looked to be a very old olive tree. It’s gnarled and twisted trunk was almost three feet in diameter.

“Look at that tree! That one has to be at least a hundred years old or more. Come, let’s see if we can put our arms around it!”

They went over to the tree and stood on opposite sides and reached out to grab hands. They could put their arms around it, but it was still impressive.

“I wonder if trees have a soul?” Lorraine asked. “They live, they breathe, and take in nourishment. Why not?”

“Well, this tree is probably saying what are these two stupid humans doing?” They laughed and dropped their arms. “Let’s sit and enjoy the peace for a bit,” Philippe suggested.

“Sit? Where?”

“On the ground, at the base of this tree. Here I’ll lean on it and you sit between my legs and lean back against me.” Philippe sat down on the ground at the base of the tree with his legs stretched out leaving just enough room for Lorraine to sit. Lorraine sat between Philippe’s legs and leaned back against Philippe who put his arms around him and nuzzled the back of his neck. “Now close your eyes and feel the good vibes around us.”

They both closed their eyes and opened their minds to the sights, sounds and smells around them. Philippe could feel the rough bark of the tree on his back through the thin cloth of his shirt and Lorraine’s soft hair on his cheek. The smell of almond conditioner in Lorraine’s hair drifted into his nose, as did the sharp, woody, almost musty smell of the tree trunk and the rich earthy smell of the ground. He could hear the low whirring of insects and the twittering of birds in the trees. There was no breeze but the air felt cool and clean in the shade of the trees.

With his eyes closed Philippe realized that in this olive grove time seemed different. How did time pass for these slow growing trees? This grove was here when he was originally born in 1640. Did the trees notice the passage of time? Did they notice the changing fashion of the ladies and gentlemen that strolled through the grove? Then he had an image of him at eighteen and Lorraine at fifteen, the year they became lovers. Yes, he knew what they would have done in this grove. They would find a nice quiet spot away from the rest. And then he realized they would have done exactly what he and Lorraine were doing now. Only they would’ve taken off the heavy over-jacket and the long vest leaving them in the white cotton shirt with the billowing sleeves ending in a lace cuff. The shirt would have started out tucked into knee length britches, but the shirt would’ve been pulled out of the pants and left to hang freely—the better to slip hands under the shirt for caresses. And the breeches would not have stayed fastened either as the fresh air and beautiful day would’ve driven their passion. Young and careless, not afraid of taking chances, they would have risked it all for an afternoon of sex in the olive grove.

Philippe’s thoughts were interrupted by Lorraine asking, “Love, you are awfully quiet. What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing much. Just daydreaming,” Philippe lied. He felt a tightness in his pants that had not been there when they sat down. He guessed time and age had not changed him much.

Obviously, Lorraine noticed too because his next words were, “Whatever it is, I can feel your cock poking me in the back now. It wasn’t when we sat down.”

Philippe sighed and said, “If you must know I was thinking back when we first became lovers when you were fifteen and I was eighteen. What we would have done in this grove.”

Lorraine chuckled, “Yes, we would probably have started off like this, but it would’ve ended much differently.”

“Well, there are too many people here anyway. I don’t relish getting arrested for public lewdness.”

“No. When we were teenagers in the 1600’s if we had been caught, and if you had not been the king’s brother, we both might’ve been hanged for our perversion. A night in jail and a fine doesn’t seem too bad compared to that.”

“Oh, but I _was_ the King’s brother and we would not have been hanged. But you probably would have been sent off somewhere far away from me and Louis would have found some way to punish me. But back then our mother was still alive and really controlling things. She would have been the one I would have had to answer to. I don’t really know what she would’ve done. She wasn’t that happy about you and I being together. She thought I could do better—no offense, love.”

“None taken. I know how most of your family felt about me. And they probably weren’t too wrong about me. I was very conniving, frivolous, and—I hate to admit—somewhat lazy.”

Philippe sighed and said, “Not when you were fifteen. You were vivacious, challenging, witty, and adventurous. I was none of those things. I wasn’t allowed to be. But you taught me it was okay and I learned to stand up for myself better, although Louis always knew how to get to me, belittle me and knock me down again.”

“Yes, Louis was the typical big brother _and_ he was King. That made it even harder on you. If he didn’t get his way with you by being the older brother, he could always pull the King card on you.”

Philippe sighed, “Now, I imagine what we would have looked like walking in this grove when we were at our prime at Versailles. You with your walking cane, dressed in the finest clothing I could buy you. You always had an elegant, almost arrogant, grace. You knew you were the handsomest man at court and it showed. And when you walked on my arm I could feel you strutting possessively. Sending that ‘he’s mine’ vibe out to all—and I loved it.”

“Alas, and you in your dark, drab colors. Although dark colors do look good on you with your blue eyes, dark hair and pale skin—and it was much paler at Versailles since we rarely got out of that dreary chateau.”

“How can you call Versailles dreary? There was gold, marble and crystal everywhere!”

“But the atmosphere was stifling. Don’t you think the bird in a gilded cage yearns as much for freedom as the bird in a plain wire cage?”

“Yes, you are right. But I do remember occasional walks through the Versailles gardens. We could always find a quiet, secluded place to stop and kiss. There was a certain thrill to being outside our rooms and kissing. We didn’t dare show physical affection for each other at court. Louis’s glare would have burned a hole right through us, then I would have gotten an ear full in private.”

“And I always pushed you for more than just a kiss.”

“And I couldn’t give it to you because the consequences of getting caught and embarrassing Louis were just too great.”

“What is stopping us now?” Lorraine leaned back and turned his head so he could kiss Philippe.

After the kiss, Philippe said, “I am afraid all we can do here is kiss. There is nowhere private. I think we are sitting under the tree with the biggest trunk already.”

“Then we shall just have to be content with kisses now.” Lorraine leaned his head back for another kiss.

“Sorry, but that will have to be all for now. My jeans are getting tight again.”

Lorraine turned to his side and said, “Well, I could lay like this with my head in your lap and with a simple unzipping solve that problem for you fairly quickly.”

“No, there will be no simple unzipping and it wouldn’t be quickly or the least bit discreet. I think I am ready to get up and go see something else. We’ve still got a lot to see. We should take a look at the Matisse museum since it is closest.”

Lorraine sighed heavily. “If you insist.”

They got up and walked over to the museum. It was in a 17th century villa that had been totally renovated and reconfigured inside to display Matisse’s artwork.

Lorraine quipped, “I’ve seen much fancier villas in the 1600’s than this.”

But he was surprised at the modern interior and the bright and airy foyer where several of Matisse’s large paper cutout “tapestries” hung.

“At least Matisse seems to be a much cheerier guy!” Lorraine said as he picked up a pamphlet on Matisse’s life. “It says he came to Nice in 1917 to get rid of bronchitis he had caught in L’Estaque. He booked a month’s stay at the Hotel Beau Rivage. He was 48 at the time. It rained the whole time forcing him to paint the interior of his hotel room over and over. But on the day he was to leave, the sun came out. He saw how beautiful Nice was and decided to stay.”

“He rented a couple of apartments that winter, then a suite in the Palais de la Mediterranee over the next few winter/springs. He moved to Nice for good in the winter of 1921 staying in a rented apartment. The big yellow building at the top of Cours Saleya was his home for the next 17 years. In the beginning, he rented an apartment on the third floor with a view of the market, but then he moved to the penthouse on the fourth floor with a wrap-around terrace. When he was working on his most famous work, _The Dance_ , the apartment was not big enough for this monumentally large painting, forcing him to rent a garage which he turned into an enormous studio.”

Lorraine continued, “It says he moved here to Cimiez and rented two large apartments on the third floor of the Regina Hotel. That was where he stayed except for a five-year stay at the Villa Reve in Vence where he had gone to escape bombing at the end of WWII. He returned to the Regina and stayed there until his death in 1954. He is buried at the Cimiez cemetery.”

Philippe said, “Look, they have set up an area that looks like his studio at the Regina. I think those are the actual items he had in his studio. I like this picture of him at work in his wheelchair working on one of his paper cut out works. I think I would have hated to have been his cleaning person, though. Look at all those pieces of paper on the floor!”

“I think it is amazing that when his hands were too crippled to paint, he turned to paper cut outs. That is dedication to one’s art!”

“And he is as famous for those as he is for his other work!”

Lorraine said, “I like this one, _In the Studio_ 1929.”

“Here’s another one looking out a window done later."

"This one is _Window in Tahiti_ done in 1939. It is amazing to see  how his painting progressed! He got much looser and more abstract. I think I like this style better.” Philippe remarked.

Lorraine said, “Looks like he got simpler as he progressed. This one is colorful but doesn’t have the curving exuberance of the other painting. It is called _Reclining Woman in a White Dress_. It was done in 1946.”

Philippe said, “It is always interesting to see how an artist progresses and changes his style throughout his life. And how a group of artists will all embrace an ideology or method of painting but each produce something so different fro the others.”

“It says here Picasso painted in Cannes not too far away and they were both friends and rivals. I guess they had a lot of good debates about art. I see Matisse as someone interested in beauty whereas Picasso was more about honest, brutal, truth. Picasso’s works can be downright ugly at times. But then so can life. Especially war. But who wants to be reminded of that all the time? ”

As they left the Matisse exhibit, Philippe said, “That exhibit left me with a feeling of joy and hope. Even at the end of his life, when he was probably experiencing so much pain from his crippled hands and was in a wheelchair, he still created joyful artwork. I didn’t really see anything depressing in any of his work. You have to admire a man like that!”

“Yes, you do. What is next?” Lorraine asked.

“The Roman amphitheater is just over there to the right. Then we can go down to the other Roman ruins.”

They walked over to it and entered through the arch.

“I guess it isn’t as spectacular as the Coliseum, but I imagine there were more levels than what is left today. Does it say in that pamphlet what kind of events they held here?” Philippe asked.

Lorraine consulted the pamphlet. “It says events at the amphitheaters were the main source of entertainment for the Roman people. The rulers knew it was important to impress and keep their constituents happy and spent lavish amounts of money on the events that sometimes lasted a week or more and were most times part of a larger festival. It was customary to have a parade before the amphitheater event where exotic animals were displayed, various performers, like jugglers or acrobats exhibited their skills, and animal trainers made various animals perform tricks. A series of trades sprang up around amphitheaters including horse and animal trainers, animal trappers, musicians, sand-rakers.”

“Yes, I remember the events Louis would put on at Versailles. He was always looking for the most exotic of acts. It’s probably good that he never thought to build an amphitheater. Of course, he thought the Italians were an uncouth people anyway. He probably considered that sort of entertainment uncivilized although he never shrank from the gorier forms of public execution.”

Lorraine said, “Please don’t remind me. I remember very well sitting in jail hearing the screams of a man being drawn and quartered thinking I would be next.”

“You should have thought of the consequences of your actions before taking them. I certainly did not enjoy hearing you were a traitor and were being condemned to death. I nearly died myself just thinking about it. But enough of that, what more does the pamphlet say?”

“One of the most popular events was the gladiator against gladiator fights. Gladiators were usually slaves or criminals that were trained to fight, although there were a few free men who liked to fight for the fame and excitement. The spectacle of two men fighting to the death excited the audience, especially when the men were skilled and competent fighters. The gladiators sometimes fought wild or exotic animals, as well.” The audience had a say in the outcome of any fight, especially if one, or both, of the fighters showed exceptional skill or bravery. This magnanimity extended even to particularly brave animals.

“The larger amphitheaters could have tunnels and mechanisms where a fighter or animal could suddenly appear. Most times the amphitheaters were decorated with shrubs, trees, rocks and other items to make the setting more realistic.

“The execution of criminals was also held in the amphitheaters and included many gruesome methods. Untrained criminals might have to fight a well-trained gladiator or another criminal. A criminal might be put in the ring with or chained to a vicious wild animal. Other times prisoners were beheaded, burned at the stake or crucified in the amphitheaters. Sometimes they made the prisoners wear a mythological costume to add interest to their death. Other times, certain battles would be re-enacted using prisoners, slaves or criminals—many of whom would be slaughtered in the action or when taken as prisoners of war in the battle. It didn’t matter that they weren’t real prisoners of war. The crowd lusted for death and got it. At the larger amphitheaters, some Roman leaders even flooded the floor of the amphitheater to re-enact a naval battle!

“And, finally, animals would be pitted against each other in the amphitheater. They would chain a predator to an herbivore and watch the ensuing gore. Or two different types of predators would be pitted against each other like a lion against a bear. The audience loved to see exotic animals fighting. Since the Roman Empire covered so much of the existing civilization, obtaining exotic animals wasn’t that difficult—but it could be expensive. The Roman leaders and Emperors knew it was worth the price to keep the public happy and give them the best show possible. In some areas elected officials were expected to put on amphitheater events to thank the people for voting them into office.”

While Lorraine was reading the pamphlets, they had been walking around the amphitheater. When he was finished, Philippe took his hand and led him over to step up to the higher tier of the amphitheater, then they worked their way over to one of the deep arches that was behind a crumbling wall. Philippe led them into the shadow of the arch and away from prying eyes. He pushed Lorraine against the wall of the arch and pushed Lorraine’s hair from his face with a hand to both sides of his face. Holding Lorraine’s face in his hands he leaned in to where his lips were just a breath away from Lorraine’s lips.

Lorraine whispered, “Has all this talk of death and dying aroused you?”

“What do you think, love?” Philippe pressed his body against Lorraine’s. That answered Lorraine’s question. Philippe bit Lorraine’s bottom lip, then kissed him gently, pushing his tongue between Lorraine’s lips. The kiss sent fire through Lorraine’s body as Philippe intended.

“Exactly what do you have in mind and how are we going to do it without being seen?”

“There is that partial wall out there, and I took you all the way to the end here, where few are likely to go. The hill behind the arch provides protection and this arch is so deep in shadow that no one will be able to see us. Like a good military strategist, I plan my moves out carefully.” Philippe ran his fingers down the side of Lorraine’s face. “And I decided we need a little adventure and excitement. We are not old and decrepit, yet. I still have a lot of that teenager left in me. And god knows in this life, as a teenager, I didn’t give a fuck what other people saw or thought.” Philippe moved in again pressing his lips against Lorraine’s, and there was nothing soft or gentle about the kiss. At that point, Lorraine stopped worrying and gave in to Philippe’s urgency. He wasn’t about to let Philippe’s “teenager” outdo his own “teenager.”

As Philippe tried to suck the breath out of Lorraine, his hands made their way under Lorraine’s shirt and to his back. He ran his nails across Lorraine’s back and pulled him in closer to him. Lorraine responded by moving his hands to the back of Philippe’s jeans and squeezing his buttocks as hard as he could then pushing his hips into his. Their hips ground together as their mouths, lips and tongue played their own little war of dominance.

As Philippe’s hands dug themselves into the hair at the back of Lorraine’s head, pushing Lorraine’s face into his, Lorraine’s hands moved to the front of Philippe’s jeans and cupped the growing bulge and squeezed making Philippe stop kissing him long enough to moan. Philippe pushed Lorraine’s head back and his lips and tongue attacked his neck moaning as Lorraine fondled him through his jeans. Philippe moved his mouth up to Lorraine’s ear and said, “Unzip me, now.”

Lorraine’s hands unbuttoned and unzipped Philippe’s pants and pushed them down. Philippe was more than ready for him, but Philippe whispered again, “Get me ready, I need to fuck you now,” as he pushed Lorraine’s head down.

Lorraine wasn’t exactly sure what Philippe had in mind, but he knew what Philippe wanted right then, so he went to his knees. Philippe moaned as Lorraine made contact and said, “Get it good and wet.”

After a few minutes, Philippe pulled Lorraine up and with a few quick moves had Lorraine’s pants undone and pushed down to his ankles. Then Philippe pushed him against the stones and it was his turn to kneel. He pushed Lorraine’s legs apart, licked his fingers and began working to prepare Lorraine. Now Lorraine understood what Philippe wanted. He had a brief moment of worry about discovery and was looking around to see if anyone was approaching but was jolted back to matters at hand when Philippe’s finger penetrated him. Nothing mattered anymore except satisfying this urgent need and right now the thing he wanted most was Philippe inside him. He moaned when he felt Philippe push his left leg up to get a better angle and felt the pressure as Philippe pushed into him.

Lorraine felt Philippe lifting him and took the opportunity to wrap his legs around Philippe and pushed his back against the stones to leverage himself. Philippe was now holding Lorraine up by his hips and slowly thrusting his way deeper into Lorraine until he was all the way in. Lorraine moaned as he took in all of Philippe and Philippe whispered his customary, “You good?” Lorraine moaned a yes in response. Philippe worked slowly until he felt Lorraine was ready for more and he started giving it to him deeper and faster with Lorraine grunting and moaning with each thrust. Lorraine managed to get a hand on himself, so he could find release close to the same time as Philippe would. As much as he wanted this, the fear of discovery added an urgency that couldn’t be denied. Philippe was feeling the same urgency. Lorraine was vaguely aware of his back being pushed into the rough stones, but other feelings took priority as he felt his nerves preparing to fire. Lorraine cried out something unintelligible as he found his release, with Philippe still driving into him, the feeling was extended and deepened as he moaned and whimpered.

Philippe was grunting and moaning, his thrusts getting more urgent as he neared his climax. Lorraine involuntarily tightened his muscles around Philippe sending Philippe over the edge. “Oh god. Oh god, yes.” He slowed his thrusts, making several final slow, strong pushes before stopping. He helped Lorraine get his feet on the ground. They quickly got their pants back on, then hugged and kissed each other.

“God, I forgot how exciting it is to fuck outdoors knowing someone could come upon you any moment,” Philippe whispered into Lorraine’s ear.

“Yes, you do love danger don’t you, love?”

“Now that is done, I am hungry and thirsty for some wine.”

“We still have the Roman ruins to look at.”

“Yes, let’s take a quick look at them, then get something to eat,” Philippe suggested.

They walked arm in arm back down to the Musee d’Archeologie and through the museum to the door that led out to the ruins, picking up a pamphlet along the way. When they walked outside, they were surprised at the sight before them. The ruins were more extensive than they had thought. Philippe looked at the pamphlet and said, “This isn’t an army garrison. It is mostly baths and part of an early Christian church.”

 “I think the information inside indicated that the garrison was moved at some point, so maybe it was dismantled, and the materials used for the city of Cemenium.”

“Maybe it is just as well. I would’ve spent too much time if it was an army garrison. Now we can take a brief stroll and go on to eat.”

“There is still that Franciscan cathedral or museum or whatever to see. You know the monks that took care of the olive grove.”

“If you don’t mind, I think I have seen enough churches to last me a life time. Would you mind if we skipped it?”

“No, I don’t mind. I am hungry, too. There were those three paintings at the cloister, but I really am not that familiar with that artist—I can’t even remember his name.”

“Look, if we get home and you discover that you want to see those three paintings we’ll come down on a Saturday and see them. Now let’s go see what these Roman baths are about.”

Again, Lorraine used the pamphlet to inform Philippe of the layout. “It says there are three sections, the North, the East and the West with pretty much the same facilities in each. Those facilities were locker rooms, side-by-side toilets, and sport rooms. In each section there is a hot building called a _calderium_ that had a wet steam room as well as hot baths. Then there is the _tepidarium_ that is a dry steam room, and the _frigidarium_ for a bracingly cold dip.

In the North section, locker rooms led to the _palestra_ (room for exercise and wrestling training) then on to the _frigidarium_ (the cold bath.) After that you come to the three rooms heated by a _laconicum_ —circular oven: the _tepidarium_ (heated dry air room), the _destrictarium*_ where the body was oiled by a servant then scraped with a _strigil_ to remove the oil, sweat and dirt, and the _calderium_ (the hot bath.)

The tepidarium got the bather used to the warm air and opened the skin pores for the anointing and scraping done in the _destrictarium_. Then came the steaming hot baths where the bathers lounged and sweated. They would then go in reverse order, back to the _destrictarium_ * to oil and scrape off the sweat, dirt and oil, then to the _tepidarium_ where they would transition to the comfortably heated air. They could finish it off with a dip in the _frigidarium_. The North section also contained a _peristyle_ (surrounded by columns) pool, latrines and a garden. The furnaces, pumping systems, and pipe systems were visible throughout the complex.

_*This process was used instead of soap which was very expensive and not widely available_

The Eastern Section had all the above with the addition of a _schola_ (meeting or school room) and a fountain.

The Western Section contained an early Christian church with a baptistry, bishop’s residence and outbuildings as well as the three types of baths as described above.

Water was brought to the baths by the Falicon and the Mouraille aqueducts. Drainage was provided by a complex system of sewers and channels that are still visible today. There is no definitive date for the building of the North and East Sections, but they were thought to have been built somewhere between the first and the third centuries, while the West Section was built in the fifth century.

The Roman baths were much more than a place to get clean. They were the center of the major social activity, provided a meeting place where business and politics could be discussed and carried out, and were the gossip hub of Roman life.

As Philippe strolled through the ruins, Lorraine told Philippe, “This seems like a very elaborate setup  just to take a bath. I wonder why they had three of them in one place?”

Philippe answered him, “I think it said Cemenium, the Roman city that existed in this area, had a population of at least 10,000 people. Three sets of baths don’t seem like much when you consider all those people!”

“I guess when you put it that way, it then makes me wonder why only three?”

“I am glad that we don’t have to go through all that ritual. Just jump in the shower. I guess we still have a communal bathing thing going in modern gyms and the like. Exercise and get sweaty then go take saunas, steam baths, showers, etc. among a group of other people you may or may not know. Some places are even co-ed.”

“Yeah. Like the Roman baths, gyms can be nothing more than just a place to pick up sex partners. Funny how things change, but somehow remain the same!”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I am ready to find our driver and go find somewhere to eat! I am famished!”

Lorraine answered, “We left him parked up by the Matisse Museum. I guess we are going to have to hike back up the hill.”

“Just great!”

They went back into the Musee d’Archaelogie then out the front and were surprised to see their driver there waiting for them. They were very happy they were not going to have to walk up that hill again. He told them he had watched them from the back patio of the Musee Matisse and figured they had seen everything. If they did want to see the Franciscan cathedral and cloister, he would be glad to drive them to it. There was no direct path they could have walked to it. Philippe and Lorraine both said at the same time, “No, we want to eat!” and they all laughed. The driver told them he had the perfect place in mind for them to eat—a place called La Bistronome. It was on their way to the wineries and only about ten minutes away. Lorraine and Philippe got in the car, thankful to be off their feet. They had seen a lot of interesting things but had done a lot of walking.

They soon were pulling up to a small, but nice-looking restaurant. When they walked in, they almost swooned when the aroma of the food hit them. The restaurant was full of wonderful aromas. They invited the driver to eat with them and were soon seated at a table. They asked the driver what was good here and his answer was “everything!” He also told them his favorite was the red mullet with a side of cepes frites (fried mushrooms.) He explained that the owner always had an interesting variety of fresh mushrooms. Mushrooms were the owner’s passion. He searched for only the best and enjoyed bringing in rare varieties other restaurants wouldn’t bother getting.

Philippe decided to get the mushroom stuffed sole, while Lorraine decided on the risotto gambas. Both ordered a salad and an order of cepes frites. Philippe ordered a bottle of Famille Gaillard Sauvignon for them, but the driver said he didn’t want any wine and ordered coffee instead.

“They have some great desserts. They make a heavenly tiramisu and an elegant éclair. They also have an apple tart topped with gelato that is wonderful. I could order several desserts and eat only them if I could get away with it,” their driver volunteered.

Philippe decided to try the strawberry-stuffed éclair while Lorraine decided on the citrus tarte.

They talked with the driver who had some funny stories to tell about the people he met at  this job. He had a wife and several children, the oldest a boy in high school. He told them about a newly married couple who couldn’t keep their hands off each other and had had sex in the back seat of his car.

Lorraine asked, “Does that happen often?”

“More than you would think. I guess people think, since I am driving, I won’t notice, or they just don’t care what I think.”

Philippe asked, “Does it bother you when people have sex in your car?”

“No, not really. I’m used to it. I usually get a very good tip from those people. I was raised on a farm, so I am used to seeing animals rutting. People are no different.”

Philippe and Lorraine looked at each other. They knew they had been guilty of that “offense” quite a few times and had given the obligatory bonus tip to their driver. They both wondered what the driver would have thought if he knew about their activity at the amphitheater.

Their quickly eaten salad managed to slake their hunger enough to keep them from fainting from hunger that had been made worse by all the delicious smells in the small restaurant. Philippe smiled when the plate containing his sole was put in front of him.

He exclaimed, “Are those truffles on top of that sole?”

Lorraine said, “Give me a taste and I will tell you. They certainly look like truffles.”

“I think I can taste them and tell for myself, thank you. This smells absolutely wonderful! I didn’t expect it to have a cream sauce on it!” Philippe pick up a truffle and took a bite. He smiled and said, “Yes! These are truffles and are very delicious.” He then took his fork to get a bite of the fish with stuffing and truffle and ate it.

Meanwhile, the server had put down Lorraine’s Risotto Gambia. Lorraine was peeling the garlic-and-olive oil-cooked shrimps, so he could eat them with his risotto.

The driver was also enjoying his red mullet served on top of stewed vegetables and focaccia.

Philippe and Lorraine exchanged bites of their food as they usually did. Lorraine asked Philippe, “Did you taste the mushroom flavor in the risotto? Isn’t it absolutely delicious?”

Philippe’s answer was an enthusiastic nod as his mouth was full of sole. They downed their first glass of the Sauvignon quickly to quench their thirst but took time to savor the second glass.

Philippe drank his third glass of the sauvignon while finishing off his sole and asked Lorraine if they should get some wine to go with their dessert. Lorraine told him “Why not?” as he poured himself a third glass finishing off the bottle. Philippe ordered a bottle of Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2014 which would be perfect with their desserts. The driver started to remind them they were going to visit two wineries and would be taste-testing wines there but decided to keep quiet. They knew their itinerary and it wasn’t his place to remind them.

The waiter brought them the Beaujolais quickly and asked if they were ready for their desserts, which of course, they were. The driver declined dessert and told him he had to go tun an errand, if they didn’t mind. They didn’t. He tried to give them some money for his meal and Lorraine told him it was their treat. He told them his errand wouldn’t take any longer than fifteen minutes and he would be waiting outside in the car whenever they were ready.

After he left, Lorraine leaned over and kissed Philippe saying, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while but didn’t want to do it in front of our driver and become another of his stories.”

“Since when has something like that stopped you from doing what you want?” Philippe joked.

“Look who is talking! The King of Impulses, himself!”

Their banter was interrupted by the arrival of their desserts.

“Oh my! I didn’t realize how large this éclair was going to be!”

“Surely you’ve seen an éclair before! That’s about the standard size for one. Don’t worry, pate choux is a fairly airy dough. I’m sure you can handle it!”

“Of course, I can handle it, but I will be stuffed! Think of all the calories with the whipped cream and chocolate!”

“But the strawberries don’t have a lot of calories in them unless they are covered in sugar. Now this is one heck of a citrus tart! It looks like a fancy lemon meringue pie!”

Lorraine took a bite of his “tart” breaking the spun sugar disc on top. “That is not meringue, but whipped cream flavored with lemon and orange zest! The lemon flavor is really pronounced in the filling, too! This is heavenly!”

Again, they exchanged bites of their desserts, then happily ate their own, finishing off their second glass of the Beaujolais. They were feeling quite tipsy by this time. They shared soft kisses between bites of food, while holding hands and giggling at silly little jokes they were making.

At one point, Lorraine asked, “You know, when our driver said he was watching us from the patio of Musee Matisse, I wonder if he could see us when we were in the amphitheater?”

“That would not have been possible. We were inside that arch and it was dark inside it. Besides, if he did, who cares? Maybe he is a bit of a voyeur.”

“Yeah, I can imagine having a wife and three kids he might not get much sexual gratification.”

“I wouldn’t say that. Many married people with kids have very active sex lives. Getting married hasn’t slowed us down any, has it?”

Lorraine laughed and said, “No, it has not.” He leaned over and kissed Philippe again.

By the time they finished the bottle of Beaujolais, they were feeling very “blissful.” Lorraine called for the tab, paid it and they made their way out of the restaurant. Lorraine told Philippe, “The food was really great—the place was small, but the detail paid to every aspect of the food rivals any fancy restaurant in Paris!”

Philippe answered, “I have had food in Paris that cost three times what we paid and wasn’t even a third as good! We’ll have to come here again the next time we are in this area. Look, there’s our car.” Philippe stumbled as he stepped out of the restaurant, but Lorraine caught him and put his arm around his waist.

“Maybe we are a little tipsier than we expected. I wonder how far the wineries are.” Lorraine remarked.

“Oh, I am well aware of how tipsy I am,” Philippe answered.

“So aware you almost fell flat on your face!” Lorraine laughed.

They made their way carefully to the car and got in. To Lorraine’s question on how far the first winery was, the driver answered, “About 30 minutes.”

“Thanks. Hope you got your errand done. We finished off that second bottle of wine and our heads are floating a little right now.” Lorraine told him.

Philippe added, “And we are stuffed, but the food was really great.” Philippe laid his head on Lorraine’s shoulder. Lorraine put his arm around him and hugged him.

“You could lay your head in my lap if you want to take a quick nap, love,” Lorraine told Philippe.

“Maybe I will do that.” Lorraine scooted closer to the door, so Philippe would have room to stretch out more. Philippe turned to lay on his back and put his legs and feet on the seat, bending at the knees.

Lorraine stroked his hair and asked, “Are you comfortable?”

“Yes, thank you. Very.” He closed his eyes. Lorraine rested his hand on Philippe’s stomach and Philippe reached to take Lorraine’s hand in his. Lorraine looked at Philippe’s face for a while and decided Philippe must have fallen asleep. He looked out the car window at the neighborhoods they were passing in Nice. He wondered if they would be stopping at street lights and dealing with local traffic all the way there. His question was answered a short while later when they got on a freeway. Now they were making some time. They went through a long tunnel followed by another tunnel a few minutes later.

When they were going through a third tunnel, Philippe woke up. “What’s going on? Why is it dark?”

“We’re just going through a tunnel.”

“Tunnel? Where are we?”

“We seem to have left the densely populated areas and are entering more rugged terrain. I am assuming this is the tail end of the Alps—but it’s not really mountains—more like tall, rugged hills.”

Philippe sat up rubbing his eyes and looking around. The driver answered before Philippe could ask, “We are almost there. Just another ten minutes or less. You can see some of the other vineyards terraced on the slopes over there.”

“Thanks!” Phillipe said to the driver. Then he asked Lorraine, “Did I miss anything exciting?”

“Just a lot of streets and stop lights before we got on this freeway. Then we’ve passed through a few tunnels, but the scenery has been mostly like this. You weren’t asleep that long. Do you feel better”

“I’m still full. And still a little dizzy.”

“It’ll pass. Maybe we should not have eaten so much since we knew we had the wine tastings next.”

“But I was so hungry. And they don’t give you much to eat or even drink at those tastings.”

“That is why they call it ‘tastings,’ love.”

“Look, there are a lot of terraced vineyards,” Philippe remarked.

The driver answered, “There are quite a few wineries in this area. These slopes are the ideal place to grow grapes for wine in the area. You are going to two of the most popular ones. Cremat will be first. You can see it on the top of that mountain, hill, whatever you want to call it.”

“Oh, I bet the view from up there is going to be great!” Philippe exclaimed. He was getting excited now.

Lorraine pulled Philippe to him and gave him a soft kiss. “I love it when you get excited about something. Your face lights up! I assume you are probably going to order some wine to be shipped home.”

“Yes, if it’s any good and I think it will be. I have enjoyed the bottles we have had at restaurants the last day or so.”

It wasn’t but a few minutes later that the car wound up the road to the “castle.”

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aLQ7ohHLZo> _Chateau d’Cremat winery (sorry could only find videos in French.)._

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aLQ7ohHLZo> _This one (again in French) shows more of the vines and grapes. It is very short._

The driver told them that the castle, which was finished in 1906, was built in the medieval Roman style by the Mari family in the district that was originally named “Plan de Mari” after that influential family. In 1948, Pierre Thome purchased the property and vineyards, now called Chateau d’Cremat since the district name had been changed to Cremat. Thome set up the AOC appellation “Bellet” which was the only wine-growing operation trading wine in Nice at the time.

Lorraine and Philippe thanked him for the information and got out of the car. From the parking lot, they turned the corner and saw a somewhat steep set of stairs they were going to have to climb to get to the wine tasting room.

Philippe groaned and said, “You think they would at least give us some handrails!”

“We can hold on to each other as we go up.”

“Yes, and I very well could stumble and take us both down!”

“We’ll go slow and take our time. Let’s go over by the wall. We’ll have something to lean on if we need a rest.”

They slowly made their way up the stairs without falling. They went through the beautiful Gothic arch style inset doorway and were greeted by a man who introduced himself as Johan, their guide to the Chateau. He told them there would be a presentation in the auditorium in a few minutes and led them to the door and let them in. He told them to take any available seat. The room wasn’t very chateau looking—and looked like any plain meeting room except for the three floor to ceiling stained glass windows in the Gothic arch style. It was really a stretch to call it an auditorium. As they sat down in the chairs, Lorraine whispered to Philippe, “Someone forgot to tell them the difference between a Roman and a Gothic arch. The Roman arch is round, not pointed.”

Philippe whispered back, “Well, it looks more like a church to me than a chateau! And that clock tower out there looked more like a short Big Ben! I don’t think they understand what crenellation was really used for. Theirs looks like fancy decorations where real crenellations were on the top of a battlement and were made so the soldiers could shoot arrows through them with some degree of protection.”

Lorraine whispered, “Since the castle was built in the early 1900’s, arrows were not a concern. That was just before WWI and the weapons were more sophisticated than the bow and arrow!”

“I guess the chateau was based more on romantic notions than reality. The grounds look beautiful, though. And that view is very nice. If the wine is good then I will forgive them their inconsistencies.”

There was a decent crowd in the “auditorium” and they didn’t have to wait long for the presentation to start. Johan went to the podium, introduced himself and began telling them the history of the Chateau with slides for illustration.

In the 1st century, the Roman legionaries, who were sent to Cimiez to oversee the Via Julia Augusta (Via means road) dug two underground tunnels to store their amphorae used for wine and olive oil. Amphorae (singular amphora) was a Roman adaptation of the Greek word _amphiphoreus_ combining   _amphi-_  ("on both sides") and  _phoreus_  ("carrier”) relating to the two handles on either side of the neck used for carrying the hand-thrown terracotta vessels. The vessels were designed to rest in holes cut out of wooden shelves with narrow pointed bottoms that served as a third handle that helped in pouring the heavy vessels.

In 1904, Antoine Mari began building the chateau and incorporated those tunnels as his cellars, turning the farm towards the production of wine and olive oil. Overcoming the disastrous effects previously caused by phylloxera, he revived the wine of the bellet. In 1941, a new owner Pierrre Thome obtained the AOC appellation of Bellet for Nice, the only one to be wholly contained in an urban area.  He began marketing the wines internationally to great acclaim.

Nice publicist, Jean-Pierre Pisoni, became owner of the neglected property and began a renovation that included the ability to host a variety of events like seminars, conventions and important receptions. The Chateau is a perfect place for a wedding and reception with its romantic façade and grounds. Pisoni reinvigorated the Chateau’s winemaking reputation while maintaining the motto of the house, “We do not want to be the greatest, we want to be the best.”

In 2001, Dutchman Cornelius Kamerbeek, a great devotee of the Bellet wine, became owner of the property with the goal of regaining the historical area of 25 hectares. He began expansion and modernization of the cellars, built new sales and tasting rooms and gave special attention to the vineyard.

In 2017, the winery made the transition to organic farming and maintains the commitment to making great wine.

The seven hectares of vineyards nestles in the hills of Cremat, St. Sauvier and Saquier which, because of their location in the Alpes-Maritime, receives the cool air of the Alps in the summer and the warm sea air in winter to prolong and moderate the growing season for the grapes. The soil is a silico-limestone mix called Poudingue (pudding) containing compacted sand and pebbles with some clay lenses. This soil is the perfect medium to grow the Rolle, Chardonnay, Black Madonna, Grenache and Braquet grapes used to make the white, rose and red wines.

The vines are grown organically on terraced hillsides requiring manual agricultural and harvesting methods.

The whites are made from 95% Rolle (Vermintino) and 5% Chardonnay; the rose from 100% Braquet; and the reds 50% Black Madonna and 40% Grenache.

The traditional methods are used in the wine making process. The diaphragm press is used for whites and rose, and for the reds, maceration pellicle and vertical press, and a three-week vatting before pressing.

Johan ended the presentation by saying that they would now take a tour of the facilities followed by the wine tasting. He led them to the cellars where barrel after barrel of wine was stored in immaculately clean vaults built into the same Roman tunnels that had been dug in the first century.

Next, they went into the production area where they saw the newly harvested grapes being manually sorted.

They were then shown the stainless-steel vats used in the pressing of the grapes.

Finally, they were led back upstairs to the wine-tasting “bar” where they were given glasses of the white, rose and red wines along with an olive tapenade made with olives, capers, garlic, lemon juice, parsley and olive oil and toasted flat bread squares to spread the tapenade on.

Johan told them when they were done with the tasting, if they wanted a see a breathtaking panorama, they could climb the spiral stairs of the Clock Tower. From there they would be able to see the ocean, the Alps and Nice spread out before them. He told him the view was well-worth the climb.

Philippe told Lorraine there was no way he was going to climb stairs up that tower. The view from the Chateau was breathtaking enough. His only interest was in tasting the wine. Lorraine sampled the olive tapenade on the flat bread and told Philippe that he should order a couple bottles of the olive oil when he ordered the wine because it was so much better than whatever brand Marda was using now. Philippe couldn’t decide which of the wines he liked best, so he ordered a case of each to be shipped to their home in Paris along with a box containing four bottles of the olive oil. Lorraine tried to get Philippe to eat at least one of the flat bread tapenades to offset the wine, but Philippe was insistent that he was too full.

They still had another winery to visit, the Chateau Bellet and Lorraine wondered if Philippe would even remember this visit tomorrow. On the surface, Philippe maintained his composure, but Lorraine knew he was going past the stage of tipsy towards flat out drunk. They still had a night of partying ahead with Johnny and Sam. Lorraine sighed in resignation. It was going to be a very long day and an even longer night.

On the way out, Lorraine had his arm tightly around Philippe’s waist, especially when they came to the stairs. Philippe leaned against Lorraine and whispered in his ear, “Wish you could carry me, love. I’m tired of walking.”

Lorraine whispered back, “You know I am not that strong. It isn’t much farther to the parking lot.”

When they reached the parking lot, Lorraine was relieved to see their car and driver waiting for them. He helped Philippe get in the car, then went around to the other side and got in, sliding over next to Philippe. He asked the driver how long it would take to get to Chateau Bellet. He was told ten minutes. Lorraine hoped he could keep Philippe awake for that time.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt6ARPIrd7o> _Video shows the construction of the new part of the modern winery below the old chapel as well as the views and vines of the winery itself._

Luckily it was a beautiful drive to Chateau Bellet. Lorraine managed to keep Philippe interested in the sights along the way. The winery with its chapel was an impressive sight as they drove up the hill to it. Their driver told them he would take them first to the chapel where they would meet their guide.

The door to the Chapel and the large window above were again in the gothic pointed arch style. At least the design of the Chapel was harmoniously done in the French Gothic style (except the modern part below.)

They waited with a group of people for the wine tasting to begin. While waiting, they looked around at the beautiful Chapel that they were told by a couple familiar with the estate was built in memory of Agnes Bellet who died at the age of 23. When the family sold all the estate except their private residence the real “chateau” in 2012, the Chapel was de-consecrated, so it could be turned into this visitor center and shop. Philippe looked around and whispered just a little too loudly to Lorraine, “I would hope they deconsecrated it. I don’t think displaying wine bottles for sale all over the church would meet the Pope’s approval! It really seems sacrilegious to have all this stuff on sale in this beautiful chapel. ”

Just as he finished, their guide appeared and told them the tour would start outside in the vineyard, itself. They went out and the guide gave them maps and pointed out the signs explaining which grapes were being grown and directed them through the vineyard. He told them to take a “balade libre” (leisurely stroll) through the vineyard on their own following the map and the signs. They would all meet back here in about thirty minutes.

Philippe groaned and said, “I just want to taste the wine and hear how it is made. I know what grapes and grapevines look like.”

Lorraine pushed him towards the first sign and said, “A little walk and fresh air will do you good.” When he realized a walk through the vineyard was inevitable Philippe had decided at least he could steal a grape or two to eat. However, Philippe was disappointed when there were no grapes on the vines. They had all been harvested not too long ago. Now, even that idea was smashed. Lorraine was patient with Philippe and guided him along the path. At least the walk in the clean air was reviving Lorraine. He thought he could see a change in Philippe, too. Philippe hurried them along and they were among the first back at the Chapel. They could at least sit comfortably waiting for the others to return from their stroll.

After they had found a sofa to sit on, Philippe put his arms around Lorraine and laid his head on Lorraine’s chest. “I wish we were back at the hotel right now.”

“And why is that?”

“So, we could take a little nap.”

“Oh, is that all you have in mind, napping?”

Philippe looked up and smiled at Lorraine, “Of course, any proper nap must include a little sex before or after.”

Lorraine stroked Philippe’s hair, “Love, you are nothing if not persistent. We will be heading back to the hotel after this and we can take our little nap.” He kissed Philippe’s forehead lightly. He had wanted to kiss him on the lips but was afraid that might lead to more and he didn’t want to have to tell Philippe “no.”

They were relieved when the group had returned, and the guide joined him. The guide led them to the new cellar facilities below the chapel. The guide told them that Pierre Roissard and his wife Anne-Rose Dettat-Doria bought the Bellet property in 1777, the year he was given the title of Baron by the King of the Sardinian States. The family, originally from Savoie, gave their name to the appellation that is one of the oldest AOC’s. Since then their wines have been celebrated around the world. On a visit to Nice, Thomas Jefferson showed a liking for the “grand cru” of Nice. The wine has been used at many important international occasions such as the Summit of Versailles in 1982, the European summit of Nice in 2000, and the NATO one in 2005. Chateau d’Bellet was served at the Monegasque wedding of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene.

Philippe whispered loudly in Lorraine’s ear, “If the wine is so famous, why didn’t they send any to _our_ wedding? We’re important people, too.”

Lorraine whispered back, “We were unaware of this wine at that time, love. If you like it, we can drink it on our first wedding anniversary.”

Philippe whispered back, “I would just be happy to taste it right _now_!”

“Patience, love.” Philippe’s answer to that was an exaggerated sigh.

The guide continued explaining that there were three special varieties of grapes that make up the Bellet wines: Braquet, Folle ( _mad woman_ ) Noir (also called Black Madonna), and Rolle. After WWII, the Bellet Barons replanted these local grapes particularly suited to this climate and terrain. The Rolle is used in the production of white wine and the Folle Noir and Braquet (named after another old family in Nice) are used for the rose and red wines. The soil is a silico-limestone mix called a “pudding” containing larger pebbles washed down from the Alps in compacted sand. Because the vineyards are grown on the terraced steep cliffs, manual labor is required in all the growing and harvesting activities. 

The Bellet Red and the Bellet Agnes Red are both 60% Black Madonna (Folle) and 40% Black Grenache. The Bellet Rose is 80% Braquet and 20% Rolle, The Bellet White and White Chapel are both 100% Rolle. The Baron G Red is 55% Black Madonna, 40% Grenache and 5% Braquet. The Baron G Rose is 100% Braquet, while the Baron G White is 95% Rolle and 5% Chardonnay.

The guide led them into the modern cellar built in 2015, that was semi-buried and semi-circular to afford the aging of the wine in optimal conditions. The new facilities were designed for gravity reception of grapes using the most advanced of equipment.   
  
He told them that the rose wines were aged in steel vats while the white and red were aged in the oak barrels. Because the processing for the latest harvest was in progress, they would not be able to take a tour of the processing facility. The guide took them back up to the Chapel, then into the secret crypt to begin the wine tasting.

Philippe whispered to Lorraine, “It is about time! But what is this crypt stuff? Is somebody buried down here?”

When they got down to the “secret crypt” Lorraine nudged Philippe and nodded toward a plaque on the wall. It read “In Memorium” and listed three people, all wives of a Bellet Baron, two of a Pierre Roissard—which could have been the same person or a father and son with the same name. Lorraine looked sideways at Philippe and they both had to stifle a laugh.

Philippe whispered, “I hope their bodies aren’t buried behind those stones!”

Lorraine had to stifle a laugh and retorted quietly, “Philippe, we must be serious! This is a sacred place that the family sold for profit and now a corporation is using to make tons of money! Have respect for those poor women—god knows their families didn’t!”

At that, Philippe couldn’t help himself and broke out laughing and Lorraine had no choice but to join in. By this time the server was pouring glasses of wine to distribute and so, while the outburst was loud and unexpected, it didn’t interrupt anything important. But the others in the tour did turn to look at them in surprise.

Lorraine couldn’t help himself and asked, “What’s the big deal? It’s not like we’re in a secret crypt or something!” and he and Philippe continued their laughing. A few of the others started chuckling and soon they were all laughing and drinking their wine.

Lorraine whispered softly to Philippe, “Well, somebody had to lighten the mood! Things were just too serious for a wine tasting!”

Of course, Philippe was serious when it came time for him to taste and judge the wines. He told Lorraine, “You know, I think, overall, I like these wines a lot better than the Cremat ones. I especially like this Baron G White. I am going to order a case of it. I think I will order a case of the Agnes Red and a case of the Baron G. Rose, too. I think that will be enough for now.”

At the end of the wine tasting he was in a very good mood. He was just a little past tipsy—not sloppy drunk, but happy drunk. Lorraine also was not feeling any pain. Before they left, they walked into the room with the statue of Agnes, the young woman for which the chapel had been built. It was a beautiful room lined in marble with the vaulted dome above designed to represent a starry night. It sobered them for a moment thinking of the young woman who had just begun her life and the pain her loss must have brought her family. She would never marry and provide them with children who could’ve provided them with grandchildren. It was never said how the woman died.

Lorraine solemnly told Philippe, “I hope the parents had other children who brought them the happiness this one could never bring.”

Philippe answered, “It is a beautiful memorial to a beautiful woman. Too bad the generations of Bellet that came after didn’t see fit to leave the Chapel in the family’s hands and instead sold it to a corporation who now use it to sell wine.”

“I think I heard the guide say that the chapel needed repair work and the corporation did renovations. Maybe the family just didn’t have the money. Isn’t it better for the chapel to be well-taken care of than left in neglect for lack of funds?”

Philippe answered, “Yes, I guess you are right. And the chapel is beautiful. It is good that people get to see that beauty. And the woman got to our hearts, so you know she is more admired and remembered than if the chapel was just in the hands of family.”

Lorraine remarked, “You know this wouldn’t be so gloomy and sad if they had some lights in here. The only light comes from the sunlight above and the light from the other room.”

“I think they planned it that way. Well, I think I have seen enough. Let’s get back to the car. I wonder how long the drive is back to Nice.”

“I hope it’s not too long because I might fall asleep.”

Philippe smiled and said, ‘Don’t you worry about that. I’m not going to let you fall asleep. We may have to tip our driver pretty good when we get to Nice.” Philippe put his arm around Lorraine’s waist and kissed him softly. “Now let’s go before we embarrass this young woman here.”

They made their way back to the car and were relieved that it would only take thirty minutes to get back to Nice. In the car Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Since it is such a short drive, guess the best we can do is get ourselves in the mood for when we get to the hotel.”

“Yes, sex and a good nap sounds like a good finish to this afternoon. We should get back with seven hours before we meet Johnny and Sam.” Lorraine pulled Philippe to him and kissed him, very tenderly and very slowly. There was no need to hurry this since it was simply a little foreplay before they got to the hotel. Philippe’s lips were looking so soft and inviting. Lorraine kissed him again savoring the soft feel and the slight taste of wine lingering on them. He ran his fingers down Philippe’s face. God, how he loved this man. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, he lost some of the feeling of that urgent love. But it was times like these that reminded him how deep the love went.

He loved those clear eyes that were sometimes blue, sometimes gray. He was always teasing Philippe about how pale he was, but he loved that paleness, especially when contrasted with the dark, soft curls. Lorraine slid his hands into that hair to the back of Philippe’s neck and kissed him, ardently—a kiss that lit the fire in both of them. A fire they were willing to let burn slowly for now. They usually were so eager to get to the next part that they skipped over this soft intimate exploration of their love.

The thirty minutes went too quickly. They were shocked when they realized the driver had pulled up to the hotel and was waiting patiently for them to become aware of where they were. They thanked their driver profusely and gave him a large tip.

“Really this isn’t necessary. It was a pleasure driving you around today. I don’t think I have ever met a couple as much in love as you two are! I am glad you had a good day and that I could be part of it.”

Lorraine, however, was not going to give up. “If you don’t take this bonus, then you are going to ruin _my_ day! I always reward people for a job well done and I am not going to let you leave until you take this!”

The driver smiled and took the money. Then Philippe said, “By the way, we never got your name?”

The driver smiled and answered, “Philippe Morain.”

Lorraine laughed and said, “Oh my, god! Another Philippe! My name is Philippe, too, but I go by Lorraine because it would be too confusing for us both to be called Philippe.”

Philippe, the driver, said, “Must be something special about that name!”

They all laughed, and Lorraine said, “Look, if you are ever in Paris, come by the House of Lorraine and I will find something beautiful for you and your wife to wear. I am a fashion designer, by the way. Let us know in advance and we will all go out for a meal or something, too. Do you have a paper and pen? I can give you a number where you can call me. And I want your number, too, if you don’t mind.”

The driver answered, “Tell me and I will put it in my phone.”

“Yes! Of course, but I left my phone upstairs—didn’t want any interruptions today.”

“I’ll call you and then you’ll have my number.” Lorraine gave Philippe, the driver, his number and the driver called his phone. They shook hands and said their final goodbyes.

It wasn’t long before Philippe and Lorraine were in their room continuing where they had left off in the car. Now, they were ready to fan the fire and let it blaze. They shed their clothes as they made their way to the bedroom. Philippe pushed Lorraine onto the bed and jumped on top of him. The wine and their urgent lust took over. While the sex in the amphitheater had been exciting and fun, there had been limitations on what they could do. Now there were no limitations.

However, at one point, Philippe turned Lorraine onto his stomach and gasped. “Oh my god, love! Doesn’t your back hurt?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, it sort of burns. What’s wrong? Did I get some poison oak or something?”

“No, when we were at the amphitheater, your back was against the wall. You’ve scratched it all up. It’s even bleeding in places. I am so sorry! I didn’t realize I was doing that to you.”

“I didn’t notice it at all until you mentioned it.”

“We need to get this cleaned up and medicated before it gets infected. It already looks red. I wonder if they have a hotel doctor who can give us something to put on it.”

Philippe went to the phone and called Johnny’s desk. He explained to Johnny that Lorraine had scratched his back up. He asked if there was a doctor on call for the hotel because even if Philippe had the medication he didn’t think he would be able to clean the wounds without hurting Lorraine. The truth was he didn’t want to even try. Johnny said that they did have one and that he would make the call. They hung up and Philippe told Lorraine Johnny was getting a doctor to come see him.

Lorraine looked glum. “I guess this means we aren’t going to proceed with our activities right now.”

“No, not until we get your back taken care of. The minute I saw your back I lost my erection and all desire. I cannot believe I did that to you.”

Lorraine said, “Well, I didn’t, and you had no idea what was happening. If anyone should have said something it was me! It was my back getting all torn up. I guess the wine kept me from feeling it. Now that I know about it, it is starting to really hurt. Funny how our minds work that way.”

“We’d better put a robe on. You should probably put pants on since the doctor will have to check your back. But first, turn around and let me check to see if it is just your back or if there are any other injuries.”

Lorraine turned around, so Philippe could inspect him. “It looks like it is just your back.”

Lorraine asked, “You didn’t happen to bring any sweat pants, did you?”

“I thought you didn’t like sweat pants.”

“Not for normal wear, but right now a pair of sweat pants would come in handy. I’m not sure I could zip up a pair of my pants right now.”

Philippe had already walked over to his suitcase and pulled out a pair of sweats which he tossed to Lorraine. “Don’t you ever give me a hard time about wearing my sweat pants again!”

“I won’t,” Lorraine promised.

Johnny called to let them know a doctor would be there in the next hour.

Lorraine groaned. “Looks like our plans for this afternoon are going to hell.”

Philippe walked over to Lorraine and put his arms around his waist taking care not to touch his back resting his hands, instead on Lorraine’s naked ass squeezing him. “You know, I could take care of that now that we know the doctor won’t be here in the next few minutes.”

He kissed Lorraine as his hands moved around to Lorraine’s front. “Of course, you are going to owe me one, but I don’t mind.”

Lorraine groaned as Philippe’s hands stroked him. Philippe went to his knees and started to work on “the problem.” A little later, Lorraine was moaning loudly as his problem was being “relieved.”

Afterwards, they kissed, and Lorraine whispered that he didn’t like to owe people. He thought there should be time for him to take care of his debt with Philippe, when there was a knock at the door. Lorraine hurried to get his sweat pants on and Philippe grabbed his robe and put it on while he was walking to the door. The doctor introduced himself. The doctor was a neat and trim man in his 50’s  with that professional air about him. If he suspected anything, he didn’t make any indication. Philippe, however, thought they both looked very guilty—him in his robe and Lorraine in his sweat pants with a cock that hadn’t quite “deflated” all the way, yet.

Then he caught Lorraine making gestures at him, wiping the corner of his mouth over and over again until Philippe realized he was trying to signal Philippe to wipe _his_ mouth. Philippe tried to walk casually over to the table where there was a box of tissues. Luckily the doctor’s focus was all on Lorraine, so Philippe was able to wipe his mouth thoroughly. Could this afternoon get any more humiliating?

“Mr. Lorraine, how did you do this to yourself? You’ve got some pretty good scratches, but they are only on your back.”

“I, uh, I was, uh, rock climbing! And I slipped, and my back rubbed against an outcrop.”

“Rock climbing? There are some good places up in the hills to go. I’ve got friends who like to rock climb. Where did you go?”

“I, uh, don’t really remember the name of the place. We had a guide who took us there.”

“I hope you waited until after you did the rock climbing before you started drinking your wine.”

“Wine? Uh, yeah, we opened the bottle after we finished. Our guide was driving, and he doesn’t drink.”

“Good because you can get seriously hurt rock climbing while under the influence. You can get hurt even when sober, as I guess you now know. I am going to have to clean this and it is going to hurt. I will apologize in advance. I will put on some analgesic first, but even that will burn before it takes effect.”

Lorraine started to answer but felt the sting of the analgesic lotion and let out an involuntary, “Oh, damn! Sorry, doc.”

“Go ahead, yell if you need to. I know it’s going to hurt, but it will feel better when I am done.”

Lorraine tried not to but several times he cried out as the cleanser and medications stung. If it had not hurt before, it was really hurting now as the doctor poked and prodded and rubbed. Lorraine was finally relieved when the doctor said he was done.

The doctor looked at Philippe, “Do you think you can clean this out and medicate it for the next few days.”

“I, uh, I don’t know.”

“I can see that you are squeamish. It’s natural not to want to hurt someone you care about. I’ll send a nurse to come by. How many more days will you be here?”

“Just Saturday and we’re leaving Sunday evening.”

“Ok. What time of the day will be best for you?”

“Will I be able to take a shower?”

“I was just going to tell you it would be best if the nurse comes right after you have taken a shower before you’ve put any clothing on your back. You should shower, but it is going to hurt. Don’t use any soap on it—that would really send you through the roof. Just let the water wash it out and the nurse will take it from there.”

“I guess we are up and showered about nine-thirty in the morning.”

“Ok. I will tell her to be here at nine-forty-five, then. By the time you leave Sunday, it should be feeling better, but you should probably go see your doctor, so he can judge just how well it is healing and let you know what else is to be done. You are going to have some scabs and those can rub off and the area get infected. Wear soft shirts—cotton preferably and just be careful. If it hurts, don’t do it. Simple as that. Uh, there is no limit on the activities you can engage in as long as you don’t lay on your back or lean against something with your back.”

Both Lorraine and Philippe blushed at that. What they had been doing moments before the doctor knocked on the door was like a huge pink elephant in the room. The doctor smiled and said, “Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I am going to go home where my husband is waiting for me. I usually don’t work on Friday afternoons, but Johnny was insistent that I come.”

The doctor smiled, and both Lorraine and Philippe relaxed realizing the doctor understood perfectly well. It was still a little embarrassing, but there wasn’t that added irritant of “judgment” added to it.

Just as the doctor was going out the door Lorraine asked, “Doctor, I forgot to ask, is it okay if I drink wine?”

“As long as you don’t do it to excess where you do something stupid. I was going to give you a pain killer but since you already had alcohol in your system, I thought better of it. Now if you need a pain killer for later you have to promise me you will not drink anything.”

“Thanks, I think I am good. I’ll just have a little wine and that should help. Thank you for interrupting your afternoon off for me.”

“That is my job. I would suggest no more rock climbing until that heals.”

The doctor again said his goodbyes and left.

Lorraine turned to Philippe and said, “Well, I think it is okay if we continue with our plans as long as you let me be on top.”

“Yeah, I bet you planned this, just so you could be on top.” Before Philippe could get the sentence out, Lorraine was kissing him. He whispered in Philippe’s ear, “There are ways I can be on top and still receive, love. Whatever you want.”

And they did explore several different ways of making love that they normally wouldn’t even think about. Two hours later Philippe was laying on his back and Lorraine was lying next to him on his stomach. Both were breathing heavily, and Philippe said, “I guess that worked pretty damned well!”

Lorraine answered, “We need to experiment like this a little more often. I am exhausted!”

“I’m going to call the desk and tell Johnny to let the next front desk person know to give us a wakeup call about eight-thirty. That should give us time to get dressed and grab a quick bite to eat before they pick us up at ten. Does that sound good to you?”

Lorraine gave a little grunt of approval. That was all he was able to get out.

Philippe made the call then settled in next to Lorraine. He went to kiss him and realized he was already asleep. He cuddled up next to Lorraine and closed his eyes. They were going to need all the rest they could get to keep up with Johnny and Sam tonight. Just as he drifted off Philippe was wondering just what kind of a club Le Glam was. His last thought was a hope that the music wouldn’t be too loud.

 


	71. Le Glam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Sam take Lorraine and Philippe to Le Glam, a gay night club in Nice.

The evening wakeup call came way too early for them, but they drug themselves out of bed anyway. There was something about getting drunk in the middle of the day then taking a nap, that was throwing them both off. They probably should have drunk just a little less wine and allowed themselves a longer nap. But it was what it was. Normally they would have taken a shower, but Lorraine didn’t want to disturb the dressing the doctor had put on his back until his shower the next morning. Instead, he took a quick bath while Philippe showered. He was not fond of baths except as a leisurely thing to do with Philippe. He did not fill it up too far either, one reason being he didn’t want to get his back wet and, the other being he didn’t have the patience to wait for it to fill more than what was barely adequate. This was all making him quite grumpy.

Unfortunately, Philippe took Lorraine’s grumpiness to mean Lorraine was blaming him for his injuries. Philippe’s own feelings of guilt didn’t make matters any better. When Lorraine snapped at a question Philippe had asked him, Philippe had suggested maybe they should call off their night out.

“And why the hell should we do that?” Lorraine had responded.

“You don’t seem in the mood to go out.”

“I am not in the mood to stay in either.”

Philippe took that to mean Lorraine wasn’t in the mood for him. All he could say was, “Okay. Sorry I brought it up.”

Lorraine dressed in the one pair of jeans he had brought. They were semi-hip huggers not quite as low as regular hip huggers. The waist band was made of leather and the front .pockets had black leather trim on them. The legs fit tightly to just below the knee, where they fell into a moderate bell shape. Silver grommets and black leather lacings replaced the outer side seams leaving a peek of bare skin along the sides of his hips and legs. The pants were made with a slightly acid-washed, dark indigo denim. They featured Lorraine’s favorite button-fly with silver buttons. He wore an Italian made fine-silver woven-link belt that was one-inch wide. His black, short-sleeved, v-neck tee shirt, in a polished cotton, had a satiny sheen to it. He wore it tucked into the waist of his pants. He wore a simple pair of black leather ankle boots.

Philippe, on the other hand, wore a simple, straight-legged pair of faded denim jeans, a sapphire blue tee shirt (not tucked in) and the pair of sneakers he had bought in Nice with the studs on them with his pants legs tucked into them.

When Lorraine saw how the sapphire blue tee brought out the blue in Philippe’s eyes, his attitude softened a little. Lorraine loved how relaxed and comfortable Philippe looked. It made him want to take Philippe into the bedroom and remove those clothes, one tantalizing piece after the other.

Philippe, on the other hand had a different take on Lorraine. “Don’t you think those jeans are a bit too much for a casual night out?”

Lorraine shrugged and said, “These are the only jeans I brought. This is as casual as I get. I have a reputation to uphold as a top fashion designer.”

“I don’t think the people we are going to meet tonight will care about your reputation as a fashion designer. But wear what you want. I don’t care.” The truth was, Philippe did care and was feeling a little uncomfortable at how alluring Lorraine looked. Philippe was sure those lacings down the side of Lorraine’s jeans and that peek of bare-skin were going to get a lot of attention tonight.

Lorraine decided their little spat had lasted long enough. He walked over to Philippe and ran his fingers along the v-neck of his tee shirt. “This blue does look nice on you. Sorry I have been so grumpy.” He looked at Philippe expectantly, hoping for a reconciliatory response.

Philippe put his hands on either side of Lorraine’s waist, “You do look very nice. Those pants are quite distracting and fit you a little too well.” He ran his hands along the waistband of the pants. “I am sorry for being a grump, too.”

Lorraine cupped Philippe’s face with his hand and kissed him. “Let’s go get something to eat. I think I will feel better after I get some food in my belly.”

Philippe’s hand moved onto the buttons on Lorraine’s pants. “I wish there was time for something else before we left.”

“I do, too, but there isn’t. We barely have time to eat before they are going to pick us up. And I need food if we are going to party for any length of time.” Lorraine kissed Philippe tenderly.

They decided to eat at La Rotonde Brasserie since they were dressed too casually for Le Chantecler. Lorraine decided he wanted a salad and grilled beef filet with fried potatoes and Philippe chose a salad and the tempura shrimp with fried zucchini. They each decided to get the cocktail of the month, Pomme d’Amour–champagne and Cointreau with caramelized apple flavoring.

As they waited for their order, Philippe asked, “How is your back feeling?”

“Not too bad. I don’t feel anything unless I rub up against something, although I do wish I had a looser fitting tee shirt.”

Philippe smiled and said, “Oh, but you look good in that tee shirt. _Very_ good!”

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their salads. Between bites of salad, Lorraine asked Philippe, “What do you think the Le Glam place is going to be like?”

“Probably loud and full of drunk people.”

Lorraine laughed and said, “That could describe any bar on a Friday night. I was wondering what kind of music they might play.”

“My guess would be dance music, pop. I can’t see a place called Le Glam playing rock music or jazz.”

“Yes, you are probably right.”

“I imagine there will be a DJ.” Philippe guessed.

“And flashing lights of some kind. Didn’t Johnny say something about a live show? Maybe they have singers or bands playing and not a DJ. That would be nice for a change.”

They ate their meal while contemplating how their evening out with Johnny and Sam would be. Finally, it was time to go out and wait for Johnny and Sam to pick them up. As they were standing by the curb of the drop-off/pick-up area, a large black limousine pulled up next to them. They started to walk away to give whoever was in the limo room to get out, when the window rolled down and Johnny yelled at them, “Hey guys, get in!” and the door flung open for them as the driver got out to assist them.

They got into the car and were surprised by Johnny and Sam’s appearance. Sam was wearing makeup—heavy black eyeliner with silver glitter eyelashes and very pink lips. His hair was brushed up to the top of his head and “lacquered” into a tall wave shape. It was sprayed with a type of black paint with the tip of it a bright blue. He had no shirt on and both nipples were pierced with an attached fine silver chain that looped from one nipple to the other. He was wearing an open, black-leather jacket, cropped to just below his rib cage. His belly button was also pierced. He wore low slung, frayed denim jeans and sneakers painted in a neon green and pink zig-zag pattern.

Johnny’s only makeup was black eyeliner and lip liner that outlined the shape of his lips in a bright red. He was wearing a bright red tee shirt that had the sleeves torn off and was ripped down the middle of the front so that it had the shape more of a vest than shirt and exposed Johnny’s smooth chest. He had one nipple pierced with a ring that had a red gem set into the side not going through his nipple. He too wore low slung, frayed denim, straight-leg jeans and bright red sneakers. His heavily gelled hair was swept to the back of this head in a sort of curving mohawk. They both had one earring that was a matching red crystal skull.

Sam exclaimed to Lorraine, “Those are cool jeans! I love the lacing! Did you design those?

Before Lorraine or Philippe could respond, Johnny cut in, “Damn, Philippe, your husband is looking fine tonight. And you don’t look so bad yourself!”

Lorraine started to answer Sam’s question, but Johnny kept on talking.

Johnny blabbed on, “So neither of you decided to wear makeup? I thought you might, Philippe. I mean after you wore that dress, but it’s probably our fault for not explaining things better to you.”

Lorraine wondered if Johnny was just excited about the evening or if he had taken something. He never was this animated at work. Finally, Lorraine managed to answer Sam, “Yes, I did design them. Philippe thought they weren’t casual enough to wear tonight, but they were the only pair of jeans I brought.”

Sam answered, “They will fit right in at the club. Maybe you could design a similar pair for me.”

 Johnny interrupted Sam with a question, “Do you guys get out to the clubs much in Paris?”

“No, I have never been,” Philippe answered.

“Wow, I thought you being a rock star and all, that you’d go to the clubs.”

“Most clubs I know about are dance music oriented. I prefer rock and I just never felt a need to go out.” Philippe responded.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind spending an evening with us listening to dance music. We’ll have fun.” Sam responded.

“That is quite fanciful makeup!” Philippe complimented Sam. “I thought you were too shy to dress up, but you don’t look shy tonight!”

“This? This isn’t dressing up. It’s just a  night at the club. Now putting on a beautiful evening gown and going out in public charading as a female among heteros, now that is dressing up and takes courage. This, everyone does.”

“I guess it all depends on what you are used to. Just what _kind_ of a night club are we going to?” Philippe responded.

“A gay night club! We thought you would just assume that. It’s not that different than a regular night club except most everyone is, well, gay!” Johnny grinned.

Philippe asked, “Are we going to stand out dressed normally like this?”

“No, lots of people wear jeans and tee shirts. Probably there are more jeans and tees than those dressed up. We just dress like this because it is fun. You’re going to have fun. Everyone is really friendly.”

Lorraine asked, “Do you always rent a limo to go out in? This is pretty nice.”

Johnny answered, “Rent? This is Sam’s.”

“What do you mean Sam’s?”

“It’s his car and driver.”

“I’m confused. How can he afford a limo and driver?”

“Oh, I guess we didn’t tell you. He’s rich—well his family is rich, and they make sure he lives comfortably. If he marries and makes an heir, he’ll get some of his inheritance and not have to live off an allowance.”

“Get married? To you?” Lorraine asked.

“Oh, no, unfortunately. His family has set him up with a girl. Ironically, she’s lez and her family has been after her to get married, too. It’s a perfect match under the circumstances since she has a girlfriend. Sam and I have been dreaming about getting legally married, but I guess that is not going to happen any time soon.” Johnny sounded a little sad.

“Yes, I agreed a few days ago to marry her. She and her girlfriend are going to move in with us. We are going to see how fast we can make a couple of babies and get our inheritances, then we’ll get divorced, so Johnny and I can get married. Once we have the inheritances, there’s nothing they can do about it.”

“That doesn’t seem fair to the babies,” Philippe stated. At Versailles, he’d more than fulfilled his duty to produce children. Liselotte was a great mother and had loved her babies. Philippe had enjoyed being a father but hated the duties that befell his children as nieces and nephews of the King of France. But in this life, he was very aware of what it was like to grow up without a family.

“Not really, divorce is the norm now—and we’ll have the added benefit that we won’t hate each other. We have even discussed continuing to all live together for the kids. It just depends how things work out—how we all get along.”

Philippe spoke up, “Well, I was abandoned as a child—given up for adoption and wound up in the foster care system. I can tell you that is not an easy life. I don’t plan on having kids, but if by chance I do, I will never let them feel alone or unloved.”

“Sorry, to hear that.” Sam answered. “That must have been hard for you. But I have no plans to abandon any children I have. I’ve always wanted to have kids and wondered how that was going to happen. It seems like things are falling into place for me after all. But I won’t be happy until Johnny and I are legally married. And I know that won’t happen for another couple of years, at least.”

Johnny put his arms around Sam and said, “No one is going to keep us apart.” They kissed. Johnny continued, “I think it is great that you two are married! Now, let’s hope you stay that way after the night we’re going to have! Hope neither of you are the jealous type!”

Lorraine and Philippe didn’t have a chance to respond because they pulled up to Le Glam. They could hear the throbbing beat of the loud music inside. There were people lined up outside waiting to get in and Philippe said, “Looks like there’s a pretty long line. It’s going to take a while to get in.”

Sam said, “Not for us! Stay close!”

They got out of the limo and the four of them walked to the front of the line and the bouncer waived them on through. Inside, the lights were a rosy pink, with a white strobe light that was making Lorraine dizzy. There was quite a crowd there, and true to what Johnny had said, most people were dressed in jeans and tees, although there were others dressed “glam” like Sam and Johnny peppered throughout the crowd. They made their way through the crowd, Lorraine and Philippe holding tight to each other’s hand, to a table Sam had reserved for them. Along the way, Lorraine felt someone pinch his ass, but when he turned to see who had done it, he couldn’t tell. He was afraid he was going to get a lot of that tonight. He sighed. It was just part of the clubbing experience.

They got to the table and sat down. Philippe put his arm around Lorraine’s waist, possessively. The table was away from the speakers, so the music wasn’t as loud, and they could talk without having to shout.

A male waiter wearing black leather shorts and a pink tank top came to take their drink orders. Philippe asked if they had a wine list and the waiter smiled at Philippe and said, “Red, white or rose. That’s the list. We only serve glasses of wine, sweetie.”

Philippe sighed and figured that meant they only had cheap wine. But he didn’t feel like another cocktail. He asked for a glass of white wine. Lorraine ordered red wine. Sam ordered a Manhattan and Johnny a Sidecar. When their drinks arrived, Philippe was relieved that the wine was of a surprisingly good quality. Well, this was France, after all. The French of all walks of life loved good wine. Philippe and Lorraine sipped their wine, but Johnny and Sam gulped down their drinks and got up to go dance. Johnny went to Lorraine and pulled him out of his seat to accompany him on the dance floor and Sam took Philippe’s hand. Philippe and Lorraine were not up on the latest club dance steps, but it didn’t seem to matter. People seemed to be moving any old way to the strong, hypnotic beat of the music.

Johnny put his hands upon Lorraine’s hips and pushed him trying to get him to sway his hips with him, slowly turning him in a circle. Lorraine looked over and saw Sam standing behind Philippe, hands on his hips as he too pushed Philippe this way and that, grinding his hips into Philippe every so often. Johnny reached up with a hand and turned Lorraine’s face toward him away from Philippe.

Johnny leaned in and said loudly in Lorraine’s ear, “Hey, you are dancing with me. Stop looking at Philippe. He’s not going anywhere.” When that dance was over, both Lorraine and Philippe excused themselves and returned to the table while Johnny and Sam danced together. They danced with their bodies pressed together, moving to the music in perfect synchrony. At one point, Sam twirled Johnny so that Sam was now behind Johnny, his arms wrapped tightly around him, his mouth nibbling on the back of Johnny’s neck and his hips pushing into Johnny. They weren’t the only couple on the dance floor in a tight and suggestive embrace. There were several couples who weren’t moving at all but were making out very hot and heavy, oblivious to everyone around them. Lorraine and Philippe sat with Philippe’s arm around Lorraine’s waist, sipping their wine and watching the crowd.

Philippe leaned in to Lorraine and said, “I expect that couple over there to start undressing each other any minute now.”

Lorraine answered back, “They don’t have a lot to take off!” Lorraine was right. One of the guys was wearing very loose jeans that hung around his hips and a tank top. The other guy had jeans and a vest on with no shirt. Lorraine noticed that they were both barefoot. “Do you think they came in here barefoot or did they leave their shoes at the table?” Just as he asked the question, the one guy removed the other’s vest and they started making their way, still embraced towards the back of the bar.

Philippe said, “I wonder where they are going?”

“Probably to find a dark, empty corner.” They lost sight of the couple in the crowd. They finished their first glass of wine and ordered another. “Should we order something for Johnny and Sam?” Lorraine asked.

“No, I have no idea what they would want next, if they even want anything. It looks like they are really caught up in dancing out there.”

“Not sure I would call that dancing. I’d call that having sex with your clothes on.”

“There seems to be a lot of that going on. In fact, I would say that was the _danse du jour_.”

Lorraine chuckled and leaned over to kiss Philippe. They may as well have a little fun, too. The next song was a slow one (or as slow as the music got in there) that Lorraine recognized. He grabbed Philippe’s hand and dragged him out onto the floor. They danced arms around each other. Philippe said in Lorraine’s ear, “We haven’t danced like this since the wedding. It feels nice.” He nibbled on Philippe’s ear lobe.

When the song ended and a faster one started, they went back to the table and were joined by Johnny and Sam. They ordered another round of drinks.

Lorraine said, “You guys look very good out there. You really dance well together.”

Sam laughed and said, “We should! We’ve been dancing together a long time.”

Philippe asked, “How long have you known each other?”

Johnny answered, “Since we were six.”

Sam added, “We had sex when we were thirteen and haven’t stopped since.”

Lorraine asked, “So you haven’t dated anyone else?”

Johnny laughed and said, “Oh, we’ve dated other people. We’ve had our squabbles and break ups.”

Sam added, “It’s taken us a long time to get to the level of comfort and trust we have now. We have an open sexual arrangement. We frequently swap partners with other couples. There is making love to each other and then there is just sex we can have with anyone.”

Lorraine was feeling uncomfortable the way Johnny was looking at him, but much more uncomfortable with the way Sam was looking at Philippe. He didn’t like the way this conversation was going and tried to change the subject.

“You said that sometimes they have live shows here. Who have you seen perform?”

“Vendreti was here last week.”

“I am unfamiliar with them. What do they sing?” Lorraine asked.

“Sing? They don’t sing. They are two very muscle-bound and sexy male strippers. The things they do together! There’s not a limp dick in the house after they perform,” Sam laughed.

Johnny added, “La Kiche will be here later this month. They’re another male strip act. They are pretty boys compared to Vendreti. Sam has a crush on the younger guy in the act.”

Sam retorted, “Can you blame me? He’s a real doll!”

Johnny laughed and said, “I think the answer you really want is that the performers here are usually male strip acts or drag queen acts. The drag queen acts are great. They like to do some combination of singing, dancing, stripping and telling jokes. We don’t get mainstream performers here. They’d be booed off the stage! It’s got to be loud and outrageous!”

Lorraine put on a smile to the others while he was asking himself why did he have to ask _that_ question? He just seemed to be embarrassing himself left and right tonight. Philippe saw Lorraine’s discomfort and said, “Shall we go hit the dance floor again, love?”

On the way out to dance, Philippe told Lorraine, “It’s okay. You are asking the questions that came to my head, too. This is a different world than we are used to.”

“Yes, but you were smart enough not to open your mouth!”

“Love don’t be embarrassed. Johnny and Sam seem to thrive in this world. We’re just not used to it. Just imagine what it would be like for them if they were suddenly transported to Versailles! A mistake made there could cost you your head! At least here, the worst that could happen is we’ll embarrass ourselves. We’ve both done that before!” They both laughed and started to dance.

Lorraine shouted to Philippe, “Hey, you are picking up the steps very nicely!”

Philippe answered, “It’s not so hard to do since all the songs have that same driving dance beat. It’s not subtle at all. It’s a far cry from learning a _pas de bour_ _e, coup_ _gliss_ _,_ or _coup_ _ouverte.”_ Philippe and Lorraine both laughed. Yes, modern dance music was much easier to pick up than Baroque dancing.

Johnny and Sam came back out on the dance floor. Philippe and Lorraine watched them and tried to imitate a few of their steps. Maybe, they were quick to judge. To dance like Johnny and Sam was as complicated as Baroque dance. Those two were so in tune with each other. And they weren’t doing the same dance over and over. No, they varied their steps and sequencing and were still perfectly together. Lorraine and Philippe gave up and went back to the table to order another couple of glasses and saw that there were two on the table already. Sam or Johnny must have ordered them while they were on the dance floor knowing they would be thirsty when they got back to the table.

They sat at the table, arms around each other, nuzzling, kissing and talking as they drank their wine. As they finished their glass of wine, they were definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol they had drunk. They had tried to pace themselves—drink a glass, get out on the dance floor and move about before drinking another. But they were obviously not burning off the alcohol faster than they were drinking it. That last glass pushed them over the edge away from just a little tipsy. After their last kiss, Lorraine aggressively tilted Philippe’s head back so he could suck on Philippe’s neck and gave him a series of hickeys. They kissed again—a lip bruising kiss, with tongues parrying. Lorraine’s hands were under Philippe’s tee shirt, while Philippe’s hands avoided Lorraine’s injured back, exploring Lorraine’s chest and belly.

Lorraine realized they were getting too involved and pulled back. “Mmmm, love, if we don’t stop now, we’re going to have to go find one of those empty corners.”

Philippe ignored Lorraine’s admonishment and continued kissing and exploring. Lorraine pulled back again. “I really don’t want to go any further, Philippe. Let’s go dance.”

Lorraine stood up and the bar spun around him. He sat back down quickly. “Okay. No dancing. Let’s just sit here, then.”

Of course, Philippe had no desire to just sit and was all over Lorraine, again. The irony was this same scenario was being enacted all over the bar as people got drunker and lost inhibitions. Sam and Johnny’s return to the table was finally enough to take Philippe’s attention off Lorraine. As Philippe talked to Sam and Johnny, Lorraine excused himself and headed for the men’s room to get rid of some wine. It was very crowded, but he managed to get to a urinal and relieve himself. He buttoned his pants, washed up and left the bathroom. He was a little disoriented when he went from the bright light of the bathroom to the pink light and shadows of the bar. He stood there for a minute trying to decide which way was back to the table, when a large, muscle-bound guy dressed in leather pants and a tee came up to him.

“Want to dance?” the man asked with a foreign accent. He had placed his large hand on Lorraine’s arm as he spoke, ready to lead him to the dance floor.

“Sorry, no, I have a dance partner.” Lorraine started to walk away but was held firm by that hand.

“After dance with me, you go back to partner. Name is Botond. What is yours?”

“Look, Botond, I really don’t want to dance right now. I’m feeling a little dizzy. Let me go back to my friends.”

“You don’t like Botond? Botond likes you.”

Lorraine wasn’t sure what to say but was relieved when another man stepped in and said, “Botond,  man said he not want dance. Let go.” Then the man spoke to Botond in a language Lorraine didn’t recognize.

Botond frowned and said, “Maybe we dance later,” as he let go of Lorraine’s arm.

The other man said, “I sorry. Botond and I are from Hungary. He not good at French or English. I am brother Aron. My brother is, you say, slow. You are handsome man. Botond likes dance with handsome. Means no harm. ”

“Thank you for intervening. I am married, and my husband would be jealous if I danced with someone else. Can you explain that to Botond?”

At that moment Lorraine heard Philippe’s voice calling his name. He responded with, “Over here!”

“What are you doing? I got worried when you didn’t come back to the table.” Philippe noticed the giant and his brother and asked, “Who are these people?”

“I’ll explain in a minute.” Lorraine turned his attention back to Botond and his brother. “Tell Botond I am flattered, and he is a very handsome guy, but as you see, my husband is here and is very possessive.”

Lorraine turned and took Philippe’s arm and said, ”Let’s go back to the table.”

When they got to the table, Johnny and Sam were out dancing. Lorraine downed the glass of wine that was waiting for him.

“What happened? Tell me, now!” Philippe demanded.

Lorraine answered, “That large guy, Botond, took a liking to me and wanted to dance even after I said no and explained I was married. He and his brother are Hungarian, and I guess Botond doesn’t understand English very well. His brother said Botond is slow.”

“I knew I should have made you wear one of my pairs of jeans instead of those. You don’t wear pants like that to a club and expect not to get noticed.”

“It is not against the law to look good. As I said I have my designer reputation to uphold. I had everything under control.” Lorraine was indignant.

“Oh, you did, did you? Then why is Botond over at that table staring at you? It seems Beauty has attracted his Beast!”

“Well, Beauty does get noticed.” Lorraine flipped his hair.

“No, he is the Beauty, you are the Beast!” Philippe teased. “You may as well give him his dance. There’s no denying Beauty.”

“I’m feeling a little dizzy right now. I’m not in the mood for dancing.”

“Maybe I should tell Beauty that I don’t mind you taking one dance with him. It is not nice to be rude to your admirers.” Before Lorraine could protest Philippe had waved to Botond and his brother who were now coming over to their table.

Philippe smiled at the brothers and said, “My husband, Lorraine, apologizes for his rudeness. He’d like to have one dance with Botond. I don’t mind as long as your brother is respectful.”

Botond’s brother smiled and translated to Botond who answered back in Hungarian, smiling happily. Aron then turned to Philippe. “Thank you. Botond is happy. I am Aron. Do you want dance with me?”

Lorraine had to stifle a chuckle. Philippe should have expected this.

“Well, um, I would be delighted.” Philippe threw a glare at Lorraine as they both got up to dance.

Botond took Lorraine’s arm gently and said. “Ksznm!” (thank you) as he led him out onto the dance floor. Lorraine was thinking this wouldn’t be too bad when Botond put both hands on his ass and began dancing, pushing Lorraine into him. Of course, this was how ninety-percent of the dancers were dancing and was just part of the dance. Lorraine looked over and saw Philippe dancing with Aron who also had both hands on his ass. Lorraine decided to have some fun and responded by putting his hands on Botond’s ass. He’d make Philippe regret setting him up like this. Botond smiled and looked down at Lorraine. Lorraine realized what that smile meant and just managed to turn his head in time to avoid a sloppy kiss. Botond turned him around dizzyingly fast and Lorraine got a glimpse of Johnny and Sam sitting at the table watching them. They were laughing!

The song seemed to last forever. Or had it phased into the next one seamlessly? Both Lorraine and Philippe were dodging attempted kisses and wishing for the dance to end. Finally, there was a definite break between songs and they managed to break away from their dance partners, thanking them and quickly walking back to their table where Johnny and Sam were waiting.

“So, I see you two have met the Hungarian brothers!” Johnny quipped. He and Sam both chuckled.

Lorraine indignantly asked, “Hungarian brothers?”

“Yes, Botond and Aron always zero in on newcomers. I imagine Botond liked your pants, Lorraine. I noticed he kept trying to poke a finger in between the lacings.”

Lorraine responded, “I had everything under control until Philippe here decided to intervene. Bet you didn’t expect it to backfire on you like it did, did you Philippe?”

Philippe responded, “Backfire? Why I was having a perfectly good time dancing with Aron. Didn’t you enjoy your dance with Botond? I saw your hands seemed to enjoy themselves.”

Sam intervened, “Am I sensing a little jealousy here? Remember it was just a dance. You came here to dance and have a good time, didn’t you?”

Johnny added, “And Philippe, you should be flattered that Botond found Lorraine very attractive. Botond has very discriminating taste. He doesn’t dance with just anyone! You have not experienced Le Glam until you have danced with Botond and Aron! Shall we order another round of drinks or would you like to do more dancing? I’d be glad to take you out for a spin Lorraine. That is, if you don’t mind, Philippe?”

“Why should I mind? We’re all friends here.”

Lorraine found himself being dragged back out onto the dance floor. And Johnny did manage to slide his fingers between the lacings to find the bare skin of Lorraine’s hips. He pulled Lorraine’s hips into his as he moved them both to the music. Lorraine was surprised, however, how smoothly Johnny kept them dancing. All Lorraine had to do was relax and let Johnny take the lead. So what if Johnny took a few extra liberties? It was all part of the dance wasn’t it?

Meanwhile Philippe had ordered more wine and was sitting talking to Sam. “You never get jealous of Johnny flirting with other men?”

“No, not at all. Johnny likes to flirt. He always comes back to me.”

“But what if he found someone else he liked better?”

“If that was going to happen, it would happen whether or not he flirted. By flirting, Johnny is in control. All the other person can do is respond. When Johnny has had enough, he ends it.”

Philippe shook his head and said, “I don’t understand it at all. How can you keep from being jealous?”

“Oh, I am always jealous. But I have learned how to accept it. And that allows me to have my own bit of fun.” Sam put his hand on Philippe’s arm. “When you have been with someone as long as I have been with Johnny, you learn how to give and take. Let the other have their freedom. You and Lorraine haven’t been together that long. You will learn in time.”

Philippe wanted to tell Sam that he and Lorraine had been together a very long time and he still had to learn how not to be jealous when Lorraine turned his attention on to someone else. But there was no way to explain it. Philippe tried to move his arm away from Sam’s touch, but Sam’s hand held on.

“You know, you two could start learning how to be freer with each other if you let Johnny and I help.”

Philippe was blunt, “We don’t do partner swapping.”

“Oh, it doesn’t have to be a swap, it could be all of us together. It’s very exciting and rewarding.”

“No, we aren’t interested.”

“Are you sure you speak for Lorraine, too? He looks to be having quite a bit of fun out there with Johnny.”

“It’s just a dance. I know Lorraine and he wouldn’t be interested.” Philippe was beginning to be very annoyed with Sam. Sam noticed the change in Philippe’s face and changed the subject.

“What do you two have planned for tomorrow?”

“Probably a tour of old town Nice.”

“Vieux Nice. It is a fun place to go. Lots of street musicians and shops. You must get some ice cream at Fenoccio’s. It’s the best there is! And take the train up to Castle Hill. It beats walking and gives you an overview of Vieux Nice and an idea of what you might want to see. The view up there is breathtaking!”

“Thank you. We will keep that in mind.” Philippe was relieved when the music ended, and Lorraine and Johnny returned to the table.

Lorraine sat next to Philippe and grabbed the glass of wine Philippe had ordered for him. He couldn’t help but notice the hand Sam still had on Philippe’s arm and wondered what they had been discussing while he and Johnny had been dancing.

Johnny exclaimed excitedly, “Lorraine, you really pick dancing up quickly! I am impressed with your abilities!”

“Thank you. I’ve had quite a bit of experience dancing.”

“Really? What kind?”

“Mostly formal dancing—ballroom and the like. Philippe and I learned how to do some original Greek folk dancing after our honeymoon to Greece.”

Sam asked, “Did you guys really go to Greece for your honeymoon? How romantic! What part?”

Lorraine answered, “Santorini—Oia! It is beautiful there and we had a great time.”

Philippe said, “We got our own villa, so we could enjoy each other in private.”

Sam grinned and said, “I can imagine what you two spent most of your time doing.” He moved a little closer to Philippe. “Philippe and I were discussing what to do after the club. I suggested we go to our place for some after club night caps.”

Philippe frowned and started to say, “I said no such thing!” When Johnny intervened with, “I think that is a magnificent idea, don’t you think Lorraine?”

Lorraine answered without thinking, failing to see the look on Philippe’s face, “If Philippe thinks it is a good thing to do, then who am I to argue?”

Sam told Philippe, “See, I told you Lorraine would be agreeable!”

Philippe started to protest but was cut short by Sam, “Let’s take care of the tab and I will call my limo.”

Lorraine was vexed that Philippe would offer to do such a thing not knowing that Philippe had not agreed to this at all. And Philippe was angry at Lorraine for not paying attention. Lorraine should have seen his frown and realized this wasn’t what he had wanted at all. Sam insisted that he catch the entire tab saying, “Let my parents pay for this night out! They would be glad to see we are keeping such illustrious company!”

As they got up from the table, Sam used the hand on Philippe’s arm to guide him toward the exit while Johnny took advantage and led Lorraine. When it came time to get into the limo, Johnny pushed Lorraine into the seat on one side and slid in next to him, while Sam did the same to Philippe and slid in next to him. Philippe and Lorraine were so angry at each other they didn’t realize how easy they were making it for Johnny and Sam. They thought the other had wanted this.

Sam and Johnny kept up a running conversation in the car, so Lorraine and Philippe had no time to talk to each other. The car wound through the streets of Nice and entered a gated community. Inside this community the street wound through magnificent properties, each having their own gate and lush grounds leading up to opulent homes. One set of gates opened as they approached, and they turned in to a tree-lined street. There was something familiar about this neighborhood to Philippe. He realized it looked a lot like the one where he had lived with Harry and the one he now owned and wasn’t sure what to do with. That realization didn’t improve his mood at all.

Sam was saying, “Welcome to the little hovel my mom and dad bought for me. And they say I am such an ungrateful child.” Both Sam and Johnny laughed.

Lorraine finally was able to get a word in, and asked, “Johnny, why do you work at the hotel if Sam is so rich?”

“I am saving up for our wedding and honeymoon. I don’t want to accept any money from Sam’s inheritance or family for it. I want the wedding and honeymoon to be my gift to Sam. And I want it to be the biggest and most extravagant wedding! And to be able to say I paid for it all myself.”

That touched both Philippe and Lorraine who looked at each other remembering their own wedding and how happy it had made them to stand up in front of friends and family to say their vows. Philippe’s frown, for a brief moment, softened as he looked at Lorraine. Lorraine smiled back at him wistfully. Then it occurred to both, at almost the same time, that they were being manipulated by Johnny and Sam. Johnny and Sam could play all the games they wanted but Lorraine and Philippe knew they couldn’t force them to do anything they didn’t want to do—unless they let jealousy and anger drive them to it.

Soon they were inside the beautiful home—it was even more opulent inside.

Sam apologized, “Sorry, this isn’t my tastes but my parent’s. If it were up to me, we’d be living in some bohemian loft near the beach.”

Johnny said, “One day we will be able to get a place that will be ours alone.”

“What about the wife and her girlfriend and the babies you plan to have?” Philippe asked.

Sam answered, “Oh, we’ll make sure it is suitable for children and will figure out what to do with the ex-wife and girlfriend when the time comes. I’m not going to forget my obligations, but I have a lifetime obligation to Johnny.”

Philippe reminded them, “Having children is a lifetime obligation, too.”

“For a man who has never had children, you presume to know a lot about this!” Sam accused.

Philippe’s answer was, “I am a man who knows what it is like to be an abandoned child. That is the only presumption I make.”

Sam couldn’t argue with that, and instead asked, “Shall I open some wine, or would you like mixed drinks? Are you hungry? We can scrounge something up in the kitchen. I am sure there is an assortment of cheeses and fruits—my cook always ensures those are on hand. We can scramble some eggs with bacon and toast if you want. You are the guests. Tell me what you want!”

Lorraine knew he probably didn’t want more wine or alcohol for a while. He was still feeling quite tipsy. But he wasn’t that hungry, either. Philippe spoke up and said, “Some scrambled eggs sound good.” For Philippe that was a strategic solution. Get some food inside them to counter the alcohol effects.

“Great! I can make some mimosas to go with the eggs or would you prefer a tequila sunrise?”

Johnny interjected, “Sam has a great recipe for mimosas!”

Philippe responded with, “I have had a little too much alcohol. I think I would prefer some orange juice—or coffee if you have that.”

“Yes, coffee would be good!” Lorraine agreed.

“Nonsense! The night is still young! I didn’t invite you over here to drink coffee! Although, I can make a great spiked coffee drink. Want to go Irish, Bavarian, Mexican, French, or a combination? Oh, I have a great one that combines Tia Maria, Bailey’s, Grand Marnier and Frangelica! I’ll make that one for you.”

Johnny added, “That is my favorite!”

Lorraine said, “Really just plain black coffee with maybe a little sugar in mine. Philippe likes his plain.”

Sam ignored him and proceeded to brew some coffee. “Now, are you sure you don’t want some wine or a drink while we wait? I’m going to open a bottle of NV Moet and Chandon Ice Imperial Champagne for Johnny and me. Have you ever had it? It is wonderful! It was especially made to go over ice for summer drinks, but it is excellent by itself.” Without waiting for an answer Sam left the kitchen to go into a room behind it and came out with two bottles of the champagne.

Johnny got out four glasses, saying, “Just have a taste! You’ll love it!”

By this time, Lorraine and Philippe had managed to make their way back to each other and were standing side by side, holding hands. Philippe squeezed Lorraine’s hand reassuringly.

Sam opened the first bottle of champagne and poured Lorraine and Philippe each a glass and handed it to them before pouring one for him and Johnny.

Philippe sipped the champagne and was amazed at how good it was. It had a spicy yet fruity flavor and was sweeter than most champagnes, but it was very smooth and good. Philippe knew it was an expensive champagne because of the Moet and Chandon brand. At least Sam was trying to seduce them with top quality champagne. He had to give that to Sam.

“Look, Sam, I appreciate what you are trying to do. In fact, Lorraine and I are very flattered.”

Lorraine had a look like, “We are?” as Philippe continued.

“I told you Lorraine and I don’t do partner swaps and we don’t do four-ways. We don’t do sex just for sex. You are wasting your time.”

Sam responded, “No, you misunderstand. I am trying to entertain friends. You do still consider Johnny and I friends, don’t you? I heard what you said, and I understand you. Can’t you just relax and enjoy being here with Johnny and me? We really don’t have many real friends. The Le Glam crowd is fun, but most of them are just out for a good time. They tend to take advantage of Johnny and I because we have more money than most of them. I know sex with you two is off the table.”

Sam poured more champagne in Lorraine’s glass. “My driver will take you back to the hotel any time you want. All you need do is ask. But please stay and have some champagne, breakfast and coffee with us first.”

Lorraine said, “I have to be up in the morning by nine, so I can shower before the nurse comes to clean out my back.”

Johnny said, “Oh, I forgot about your back. How is that doing?”

“It’s healing quickly,” Lorraine answered.

“What exactly did you do to it? You never really said. I sort of assumed you and Philippe got a little too carried away when having sex. Sorry, but I assumed it was some sort of S&M play—that was before I knew you a little better and realized you probably wouldn’t be into that.”

Lorraine and Philippe both blushed, but neither volunteered an explanation.

Sam said, “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. People have their secrets and I’m not going to pry into yours.”

At that point Philippe realized what Sam and Johnny were thinking was way worse than what had actually happened.

“If you want to know, it happened at the Roman amphitheater. We, uh, got a little amorous and didn’t stop to think what stone can do to a person’s back.”

Lorraine said sheepishly, “Philippe gets a little turned on by talk of battle and people dying.”

Philippe gave Lorraine an angry look.

“Well, you do!” Lorraine defended himself.

Johnny said, “That’s enough detail, I think we understand, now. Sam and I have had our share of run-ins with rough carpet, brick walls and the like.”

Sam decided to avert the conversation elsewhere. “Hey, you want to see my Philippe duc d’Orleans room?”

“Your what?” Philippe asked.

“My music room I dedicated to you, Philippe. As I said, I am a big fan!”

Lorraine smiled and said, “This I have to see!”

Sam filled their glasses emptying the bottle and opened the second one to take with them as they left the kitchen.

They wandered around the large house until they came to the music room. There were early posters of Philippe and his band up until their last tour a few years ago. There was also a framed in glass outfit that Philippe recognized.

“Where did you get this? I wore that on the Black Days tour!”

“From an auction of rock n roll stuff. There’s Chris’s guitar and a full set of tickets and posters from the tour. Did you know that Johnny and I flew to all the shows in Europe?”

“You were a very committed fan! I am impressed.”

“I still am. Can’t wait for your album and tour.”

“I’ll have to make sure you and Johnny get backstage passes. Just let me know which show.”

“We’ll probably be at a lot of them.”

“You don’t even know if you’ll like the album. It’s a departure from our last few.”

“If you wrote the songs and the band performs them, I know I’ll like them. Do you want me to play one of your older albums?”

“Well, I don’t know—” Philippe was cut off by Lorraine.

“Yes, I’d love to hear it! You know, Philippe, you have never played any of your older music for me.”

“I don’t like listening to my own music. It seems a little narcissistic to me.”

Lorraine said, “Don’t be so modest. It has to have some redeeming qualities if you have so many loyal fans like Johnny and Sam.”

Sam said, “Here let me play your first album. I have it recorded because the actual record is a collector’s item and I don’t want it to get scratched up by playing it.”

Johnny pushed some buttons on the elaborate recorder and audio system he had and soon an electric guitar blared from the speakers, then was joined by a bass and drums. Next was a voice screaming some almost unintelligible lyrics.

Lorraine turned to Philippe and asked, “Is that you? I didn’t know you could sing that loud and that angry!”

“It is amazing what one can do when fueled by drugs.”

Johnny and Sam were air-guitaring and singing along, enjoying themselves as Lorraine watched in fascination. Philippe was touched at how fully into the music the two men were. The music brought him back to the days of being on the stage singing and looking out into the large crowd of gyrating and cheering fans—all caught up in the music. There were times Philippe couldn’t remember because of the alcohol and drugs and other times when he did remember. At times it had been magical when he and the band bonded with the crowd and other times when it was just another show, playing the same songs they had played the night before to an audience that seemed the same in Paris as it did in Budapest or Berlin.

The best part of touring was being on stage. The worst, the hotel room after the fans and groupies had left the after-show meet and greets. But he had rarely spent the nights alone. There were always male groupies willing to keep him company. He usually had his choice of many and all he had to do was tell security which one or ones he wanted. He couldn’t say he was lonely, because he was rarely alone, but he did feel empty. But then he had spent most of his early life feeling empty.

Lorraine’s hand squeezing his arm brought him out of his contemplation. “Philippe, are you okay? You sort of left us for a bit there.”

“The music brought back memories I’d just as soon forget.”

“I can’t believe how young you look in some of these posters! You don’t smile in any of them, but I guess rock gods aren’t supposed to smile when posing for posters. That wouldn’t be cool and rock n’roll!”

Philippe scoffed, “Rock gods? What a farce.”

Sam heard that last comment and protested, “Maybe you weren’t gods, but you had a power and a talent in the music you sang, and the band played. There are thousands and thousands of bands that try to make it each year, and yours made it. I’ve listened to a damned lot of music and so much of it just didn’t do a thing for me, but your music grabbed me and caught my attention. There is something special in that. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Well, I guess we will soon see if the band and I still have that ability to grab people. Trends move on and I am not so sure we will still be relevant in today’s music world. I am not the same person I was those many years ago. I think I am too happy to be a rock god anymore.”

Johnny asked, “Who says rock gods have to be angry and sad? There are musicians and bands out there that aren’t angry and sad.”

“But they sing a different type of song than me. Fans don’t usually like it when an angry-sad band gets happy. They throw out words like ‘sold out’ and ‘gone soft.’ ”

“Well, we shall see when the album comes out, what the fans will say. They will be the final judges, after all,” Sam proclaimed.

Philippe responded with, “I suggest we go get some breakfast. I need coffee to counter-act this very good champagne—plain black coffee with no embellishments.”

They all agreed and went back to the kitchen. “Let me make just one of these special coffee drinks. Then you can have all the plain coffee you want afterwards.”

Philippe relented. How strong could one cup of coffee be, after all? Philippe had not counted on Sam using some gigantic coffee mugs that were filled half with coffee and the other half with “embellishments.” The “embellished” coffee was very good, but very potent. Sam talked them into another round of coffee while he cooked bacon. Sam had Johnny make some of the special mimosas telling him what ingredients to put in as Sam prepared a large omelet for the four of them.

When they sat down to the breakfast, they were all tipsy again. The mimosas pushed them over the edge to happily drunk. They all agreed that Sam made a “mean” omelet and they did another round of mimosas as they sat and talked and joked. Lorraine had his arm around Philippe and his other hand on his knee, working it up to his thigh. At some point the conversation died down as the two couples turned their attention on their partners.

Lorraine’s hand was about to reach its target when Philippe’s hand stopped it. Philippe whispered in Lorraine’s ear, “Love, I think we need to go home where we can finish this in private.” They both looked over at Sam and Johnny and realized Johnny was on his knees.

Lorraine whispered back, “I don’t think we’re going to get Sam’s attention to call his driver for a while. He and Johnny are sort of busy at the moment.”

“Yes, I see that. And I really would prefer not to see it. Let’s go into the living room and give them some privacy.”

“I don’t think they care one way or the other.”

“But I do care.” Philippe stood up and steered Lorraine towards the living room.

They sat on the couch and Lorraine started to continue where they had left off, but Philippe stopped him. “I think we should call a cab or an uber back to the hotel.”

“Do you know the address here? I don’t.”

“Damn, neither do I.”

Lorraine reached over to kiss Philippe again. Philippe started to resist, but gave in. Lorraine whispered, “Is this private enough for you in here?”

“No. I want to go back to the hotel room.”

They heard Sam crying out in the kitchen and looked at each other. “Give them a minute or so, and then we can go back in and ask them to call us a ride,” Philippe said.

They waited a few minutes but didn’t want to give them too much time to get started on something else. They went back in the kitchen and saw that Sam and Johnny were already on to something else.

Philippe decided there was no other option than to interrupt them. “Sam, hey Sam. Excuse me but we’d like to get a ride back to the hotel.”

Sam stopped licking Johnny’s belly and turned around. “Oh, hi. Thought you two were busy in the living room. So, you want to leave? Are you sure we can’t convince you to join us and stay a while?”

“We want to leave. Thank you for the offer, but I’ve already told you we aren’t into that.”

Sam sighed and reached for his phone which was on the counter. He called the driver and asked him to bring the car to the main entry of the home. “You know I had to wake the poor man from his sleep.”

“Yes. But that is what he gets paid to do. I hope you pay him well enough for it.”

“I do. Well, we had a great night with you even though it didn’t end the way Johnny and I wanted. Hopefully we can get together again before you leave. You know where Johnny will be. The car should be outside in a few minutes. Can you find your way out?”

“Yes, we can. We had a good time with you. It was an interesting experience going to our first gay night club. We’ll let you get back to your activities, then. Bye.”

Lorraine added, “Bye, talk to you later, Johnny, Sam.”

They turned and made their way to the front door. The driver was already there waiting for them.

In the car Lorraine said, “I think Sam was a little mad at us.”

“Well, let him be. I told him over and over that we weren’t interested in having sex with them. It’s not my fault he can’t take no for an answer. You didn’t want that did you?”

“No, of course not. We’ve tried that before and it didn’t work. You are more than enough to make me happy.” Lorraine took Philippe’s face in his hands and kissed him. “I get too jealous when I see someone else touching you. I want you all to myself, love.”

Philippe said, “Yes, I about went crazy watching Johnny dancing with you putting his fingers into the laces on your jeans.” Philippe slipped his fingers of one hand into those same laces.

Lorraine answered, “You do know these pants don’t really untie like shoe laces. The laces are sewn in at the top and bottom.”

“Yes, I know, but there are other ways to take pants off. I look forward to that when we get back to the room.” They kissed again and continued kissing until the car pulled up to the hotel. Lorraine gave the driver a tip which the driver tried to refuse saying he was paid well enough not to need tips, but Lorraine insisted saying he deserved it for waking up so promptly. The driver finally took the money.

Lorraine and Philippe entered the hotel arm in arm and made their way up to the room. The first thing Philippe did was take off Lorraine’s pants. The rest of their clothes followed, and they finally had the privacy to end the day the way they had wanted—only they realized it was five in the morning and they only had four hours before the nurse would come to take care of Lorraine’s back. They decided that they’d get up long enough to shower and let the nurse come, then they’d crawl back in bed and sleep as long as they wanted. Then they proceeded to use up an hour of that four hours in making the love they’d both been thinking about all night. Make that one and a half hours.


End file.
